Gotcha
by Stoned Snail
Summary: Having returned from the dead, Ryo faces some major problems. An evil digimon and Ruki and her fear of comitment being the biggest. *COMPLETE*
1. The most unfortunate circumstances

A/N: Hey, guys. This is my first attempt on a fanfic. Ruki may be a little OOC sometimes, but I tried my best. I'd appreciate if you review, but please don't be too harsh, 'kay? Ruki, Jenrya, Takato, Juri, Kazu and Kenta: 11 years Shuichon: 8 years Ryo: 15 years "." : speaking °...°: Ruki's thoughts ...: Ryo's thoughts  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Oh, sure! This is all mine! That's exactly why you read this at a place called FANFICTION.net. Indicating I'm nothing but a fan. And with no possessions besides old smelly socks.  
  
  
  
Makino Ruki sat on the bench in the park. (A/N Sorry, dunno what it's called.) The D-Reaper's destroy dated back almost one year now. The tunnel Takato had discovered had been temporally blocked because of an earthquake. They just had uncovered again. Now, the group was about to meet in order to find out if that tunnel was actually passable. And, she thought annoyed, of course they were all late.  
  
Suddenly, she felt fingers playfully glide along her ribcage, tickling her mercilessly. She spun around, trying hard to not give that Kazu moron the satisfaction of succeeding as she effortlessly stifled her laughter. But as she recognized the attacker, her urge to laugh was immediately quelched. She looked resigned as she raised a sceptical eyebrow: "Ryo."  
  
His features bore a look of mild amusement to her statement. "No, miss, I'm a pink rabbit."  
  
"Don't get on my nerves, Akiyama, or you'll get an one way ticket to the moon."  
  
"Was that a thread? Awww, how sweet." His voice turned shrill as he tried to imitate a little scared girl, "Somebody help! I'm being threatened by the goddess of death herself!"  
  
"Oh, shut up, jerk."  
  
"Make me. Come on, attack me, Tiger!"  
  
She smirked at him. °Wanna give it a go, dear? You have no idea what you're up against.°  
  
The boy looked at her, flashing his trademark smile. He made no move to flee nor attack, he just stood there and looked at her cockily. That made her temper well up slightly.  
  
"Stop grinning like that idiot you unfortunately are and try to keep an empty promise."  
  
"I won't attack you." Then he smirked. "I hate to hit poor little girls."  
  
"That's it. Die!!!"  
  
She growled and tried to go for his neck. He stood still as if he wanted her to run right into him, then he quickly stepped out of her way. As simple as that move was, it caught her by surprise. Maybe because it was so simple. As she was busy trying not to drop onto the ground the prick used her defencelessness and brought her down by tickling her again. He grinned as she struggled to get out of his grasp, not able to look angry or glare because of her fits of laughter.  
  
"Gotcha." He stopped and the bitch attitude returned full force.  
  
"Oh, really? Don't you think I can see that, ass?"  
  
He just smiled.  
  
"Well.. not that it's my business, but.. what the heck are you doing?" Abruptly, they both looked up.  
  
Juri and Takato stood near the bench, interested looks on their faces. Takato wouldn't assume anything, Ruki was sure about that point. (A/N Hey, it involves thinking, remember? ^.~) Juri on the other hand had gotten an odd glow in her eyes. And Ruki didn't like it at all, since she knew what it meant. She shot her a warning glare and Juri gave her best not to look too coupler-ish.  
  
The rest arrived not too much later. Even Shuichon was going, having grown quite a bot. The passage was surprisingly easy to get through. And when they came to the Digital World, they didn't need to search long. Guilmon had stayed near the hole ever since the digimon got back, patiently waiting for a sign of his friends. After being nearly choked by everyone's welcome he explained that only humans could pass through the gate. Together they went to look for the others.  
  
One by one, they found Terriermon, Lopmon, MarineAngemon, Guardromon, Calumon, Monodramon and Renamon. She and Ruki were the only ones that didn't seem to be too excited seeing each other. But that was just the surface. Inside, both of them were almost hysterical about seeing each other again. But their pride wouldn't allow them to show it. Yet, the connection or whatever it was they shared let their partner know that they felt exactly the same.  
  
The tamers had chosen summer's vacation for their trip so they could spend some time with their friends. After searching for nearly three hours, they found a cave near a river to stay in. Everyone laid his sleeping bag on down the floor. Ryo chose a corner, so that he could overlook the whole cave.  
  
°That shows that he's used to sleep in places like this. If an enemy came he would see him first and plus, he would be in a perfect position to fight it.° He sat down and let his gaze wander. Their eyes met. A little surprised at the interest of one another, they both looked away.  
  
°Oh, I hate blushing. Why can't that be stopped?°  
  
She cursed inwardly and turned quickly to another corner.  
  
"Well, you shouldn't place it there, wildcat."  
  
She spun around, no more blushing, just the usual annoyed face.  
  
"Really? And may I ask the daring question why I shouldn't, Mr. Legendary Tamer?" He shrugged, unfazed by her rude tone.  
  
"If it rains, it will be really wet there, so I suggest you search some other place. Unless you want to take showers more often than necessary."  
  
She couldn't think of a good reply, so she stayed silent and glanced around the room. The only spot with enough space was exactly next to Ryo. She rolled her eyes and went over to him.  
  
"Try anything funny and you're a dead man. Got it?"  
  
He held his arms up in a sign of defence.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it, Ice Princess."  
  
Though they didn't show it to the others, Ryo and Ruki were getting along. Ever since the fight against the D-Reaper, they were actually building an intense friendship. (A/N Intense in an absolute non-hentai way.)  
  
But some of their friends (A/N Jenrya and Juri in particular) began to suspect something. They didn't really fight. They talked civilly to each other. (Means Ruki talked civilly to Ryo) And they were too often laughing their heads off over some stupid joke.  
  
One night, they were sitting by the fire. Ruki was talking to Renamon, Juri and Takato were whispering some sick, fluffy stuff in each other's ear, Kazu, Kenta and Jenrya were playing the card game, Shuichon was racing around between the three to get a look at their cards and Ryo was already sleeping in the cave. It was Ruki's turn to get some fire wood. She climbed into the cave and looked around. She didn't find it at its normal place but that wasn't really new. Ryo had the habit of always changing the position of their things to be ready for a fight. She frowned at his stupid habit and turned.  
  
"Ryo, where's the-"  
  
She stopped. He was leaning on the wall, sleeping. He never laid down. He just leaned his back against the wall, pulled his knees up to his chest and slept. She couldn't help but laugh about his peculiarity. He looked peaceful and.. cute. She didn't admit it to herself, but she loved the sight of him sleeping. He looked like a little boy then. She was smiling at him a pretty long time. Then she realized how embarrassing it would be if he woke up now and saw her staring at him. So she turned again searching for the wood. After some time she found it on the totally wrong side of the room. She walked over to him once again and now she couldn't help it. She bent down and kissed him softly on the cheek. Then she rebounded and ran out of the cave as fast as she could.  
  
°What if he was awake? No, can't be. He would have responded to my call. He was asleep, he was asleep, he was asleep, he was-°  
  
"Um.Ruki? You there? We still need fire wood, remember?"  
  
She turned to Jenrya, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Lost in thoughts, I guess." The sight of that smile, practically nonexistent on Ruki's face until now, was somewhat suspect. "What kind of?" "Um.. well .. nothing particular." "Okay." He eyed her suspiciously. She gave him the wood so she could escape his scrutinizing gaze quickly.  
  
  
  
Soon, they were all sleeping. (A/N In the cave of course.) But in the middle of the night, Ryo awoke with a start. He heard a small groan. He looked around the room to find Ruki, her fists clenched tightly in her sleeping bag. She seemed to have a nightmare, constantly tossing around and frowning. The boy gulped, trying to force back the urge to just scoop her up in his arms and hug her. But, knowing her temper he refused to put his life into serious danger. With her, it wasn't always best to act on your emotions. He would probably get lynched tomorrow. And that wasn't exactly his way of starting a good day, so he just reached over and stroked her arm gently. But still, she couldn't find rest. She tossed and turned like mad. Finally he couldn't resist anymore and kissed her forehead softly, gently tucking some loose strands of her red hair behind her ear. She calmed down and gave a soft, blissful sigh as he was drifting to sleep, too.  
  
She smiled. She smiled because I comforted her. Maybe she... okay, let's just NOT go there, Akiyama.  
  
The next morning, as the cave became rather boring the crew decided to try and find another place to stay in. Ruki and Ryo were all over each other again. Although they didn't even notice it.  
  
Suddenly, the ground wavered and Ruki stumbled. Yet, she did not fall, being caught by to long, slender arms. Kazu however had no such luck, landing straight on his butt. A roar echoed through the woods as a big green digimon emerged from the trees. Too terrified to move, they all just stared. Until a sharp hiss and an arrow driving into the trunk of a tree that was mere inches from Shuichon's face indicated that this was NOT friendly. Jenrya whipped out his digivice and read the display hastily. "Frogmon. Typus : Virus. Level : Mega. Attack : poison arrows." Ruki finally realized in whose arms she was and quickly shoved Ryo off. Then she faced the green thing and fixed it with a stern glare.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"What I want?" He laughed evilly, almost hysterically. "To destroy all humans!"  
  
"Oh, sure, it's a common thing to wish so, why don't you explain that?"  
  
"You weaken us from within. You turn our own kind against us." He motioned to the digimon preparing their selves to fight him. "I will not see any of this anymore. You must me destroyed. You and those traitors."  
  
Ryo's previously sceptically arched up eyebrows turned down to form an intense frown.  
  
"Just try, buddy. Monodramon! Digivolve!" The small digimon nodded. "In process, boss. Monodramon digivolves toooo... Cyberdramon."  
  
"Renamon, come on!" The fox like digimon nodded to her partner. "Renamon digivolves toooo... Kiyubimon!"  
  
Ruki walked up to her friend. The others let their digimon digivolve, too. But all the damn thing had to offer was a superior, stuck up smirk. Ruki felt her temper beginning to boil again. Who was that little fuck, to just trying to kill all of them for no reason? "Kiyubimon, attack!" And the digimon did. But Frogmon just shrugged it off, a mere flick of his wrist sending Renamon crashing into the next tree trunk. As Ruki ran to her friend to see if she was alright, the others took their try, too. But Frogmon was too powerful. Brave as they were, the digimon attacked a second time, a third... But Frogmon didn't even seem to feel it. Soon, most of the digimon were dedigivolved again. Renamon and Monodramon had trained together. They were in the best condition of the all.  
  
"Hey, go look for shelter, we'll handle that thing, 'kay?" Ryo shouted. Then he looked at Ruki.  
  
"Ready, wildcat?"  
  
"Stop calling me that."  
  
"Okay, your majesty."  
  
°Okay, note to self: KILL HIM!°  
  
"I actually think we've got more important things to do, don't we?"  
  
He gave her a lopsided smile. "Well, pumpkin, let's go!"  
  
They digivolved to Sakuyamon and Justimon. Their choreography was good, and they managed to land a few good hits. But the frog like digimon seemed unharmed. Ryo was thinking about anything he could remember about any fight he had had, but couldn't find a solution. Then, an idea hit him. It wasn't his best and surely not his most practical one, but it was worth a try. He wanted to save the others. First of all Ruki. He turned to Sakuyamon.  
  
"Hey, pumpkin, remember the fight against the D-Reaper?"  
  
"Oh, now that you say it, I totally forgot about this!" She replied sarcastically.  
  
"Good. Remember how to send your energy to me?" Her only reply was a groan.  
  
"Well, could we do that again? I got an idea."  
  
"And that would be?" She didn't look all too enthusiastic.  
  
"You'll have to wait and see, Ice Princess. But I can't do it with only my power. I need yours." She eyed him suspiciously.  
  
"I don't trust you there, Akiyama. You're probably bringing a suicide stunt again. If you don't explain this to me, the only thing you'll get is a head nut."  
  
He smiled at her behaviour. "You won't ever change, will ya? But I think you want the others to survive, right? And I'm sure you wouldn't mind if you survive, too?" She nodded hesitatingly.  
  
"Got any idea how to do that?"  
  
"Do I look like I did?"  
  
"But I got a one. So do I get the honour to be gifted by the power of the Amazon?" She rolled her eyes and sighed.  
  
"Okay, okay, you got me." She sent all her power to Justimon's sword, not taking notice that he hadn't talked about HIM surviving. The process of controlling the force of her power was faster now, and soon he was all ready again.  
  
"And now look that you get your ass outta here!"  
  
"No." She almost seemed to pout.  
  
"Ruki, please!" The desperate tone to his voice made her hesitant again.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, it's not my business if you want to stay here and get your pretty little ass pierced by poison arrows. I got your energy, remember?"  
  
She glared at him, but gave in and went to find the others. Justimon turned to his enemy again, who was waiting already.  
  
"Well, sweetie, now you get an one way ticket."  
  
He attacked him and after several tries managed to shove him his canon arm down the throat.  
  
"Straight into hell!"  
  
With that, he shot all his energy. Justimon, Frogmon and their closer surroundings disappeared in a fire ball. Ruki, who was now parted from Renamon again, watched with horror as Ryo and Cyberdramon fell down. As soon as he hit the ground, Cyberdramon was ripped into thousand pieces of data. Ruki didn't really realize it, though. She was by Ryo's side, trying to wake him.  
  
"Ryo!... Ryo!" He didn't move, didn't breathe, his heart was standing still. It couldn't be! "WAKE UP, YOU JERK! Don't you DARE leave me!" She was completely out of it, trying hard to convince herself that this was just another one of his stupid tricks. But she knew it wasn't. His features showed his intense pain. He looked so... unnatural. Only a few times had she seen him frown before. And he didn't shift. NO! God dammit, this was impossible! How could he!? Ruki could savour the metallic taste of blood on her lips and realized that she bit it. Hot, burning tears were making their way down her face. The more she tried to push it back, the more force it gained. She was sobbing like mad and clutching the front of Ryo's shirt like she wanted to rip it. This was not real. It simply couldn't be. He had saved the world! What on earth had he done to be taken from his life so early?!  
  
As Jenrya sprinted to their motionless figures, he had to bite tears back hard. And so did the others. The picture showing itself to the tamers was really sad. And in some weird, twisted way... cute. ( A/N No, I'm NOT sadistic, okay?) Ryo's face had relaxed into an almost-smile now. And Ruki was sleeping on his chest. But the almost peaceful scene came to a halt when Ruki woke up, again being absolutely hysterical. Their friends calmed Ruki down as good as possible, but it didn't really work. Ryo was brought back to the real world.  
  
At his funeral, Ruki stood by his coffin, crying soundlessly.  
  
°It's all my fault. If only I wouldn't have given him my power. We could have made it together, Ryo. Oh, I'm so STUPID! IT'S ALL MY GODDAMN FAULT!° Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Ryo's father smile down at her weakly. He reached for her hand and gently placed Ryo's red scarf in it.  
  
"Keep this. I'm sure he would have wanted you to get it."  
  
She tried hard to smile back, but it didn't really look like her. Again, the river of tears was checkless, and she just whirled around and dashed away, wanting nothing more than to forget.  
  
Ever since that day, she closed her mind. She didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't sleep. The only ones that could reach her were her grandmother and Renamon. She kept telling herself that it was her fault, slowly destructing herself until she couldn't take it anymore.  
  
And when her mother came home from a photo shot one night, she called her without getting an answer. That wasn't really surprising, but Rumiko had an odd feeling. She entered her daughter's bedroom. And screamed.  
  
Ruki's limp form lay on the cold floor, her wrist open and for all to see. A small puddle of blood had formed around it. And even now, the girl couldn't shake off that same sad expression that had never left her face since Ryo's death.  
  
Ruki made it. She was a strong girl. Although her doctors hadn't believed it, she recovered eventually. Her grandma took that as a sign that she hadn't really wanted to die. The tamers visited her, but that only reminded her of the best friend that she'd lost. She didn't want to see them anymore, didn't even go to the digital world. Her grandmother was the only one to get to her. She created her own, sad little world, filled with almost nothing but grief and guilt and suicidal thoughts. It was like that for six whole years.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ruki lay on her bed. She wore a red casual dress that ended an inch above her knees. It had short white sleeves and a white smiley on the chest. How ironic. Her hair had grown a lot. She still had her ponytail, but she didn't style it spiky anymore. She just let the curly locks fall down her back. She had her earphones on and listened to her music as her grandma entered the room.  
  
"Phone, sweetheart. It's ...Jenrya."  
  
Her head shot up, her expression changing from disinterest into extreme discomfort. "Tell him I'm not available, okay?"  
  
"He said it was really important and it involved the digital world. "  
  
"Okay, give it to me... ... Hey, Jen. What do you want?" She asked softly, almost fearing the reply.  
  
"Hey Ruki. Nice to talk to you again. But that's not why I actually called."  
  
"Thought so."  
  
"Well, you see, the digital world is in a great danger. And we need you to fight it."  
  
"... But..."  
  
"I know you don't want to go there, and I understand you. But please, we can't make it without your help. You need to go there with us."  
  
"But, Jen, that would be of no use, I'm sure."  
  
"Don't say that, we have a surprise for you."  
  
She pondered a long time, uncertain and hesitant. "Well... alright."  
  
She could practically hear Jenrya smile. "Great. Tomorrow around noon at the gate, sounds o.k. to you?"  
  
"See you, Jen." She mumbled softly. And as all she could hear from the phone was the peeping signalising an unoccupied line, she felt the acute need to pull something over her ears to silence the thing inside her head from screaming how stupid she was.  
  
  
  
Okay, see, some of you may have read this before. I went over my old version and just then realised how shitty this chapter actually was. So, here we are: The revised version! Yay! Feel free to do anything you want. Even comment. *HintHint* 


	2. good old routine

A/N Hey, it's me again! Har, har! You won't escape me, people! Man, that thing here took me ages, didn't it? Erm. SORRY! ^-^  
  
And, again, I'd appreciate if you review. Thanks to Hoobastanker, Zero, Tuppence and Leness, glad you like it. And I hope it will stay that way.  
  
And do you really think if I owned Digimon I would be writing fan fictions???  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- °Here I am, sitting on that bench again. That's where it all started.°  
  
She blinked.  
  
°It's stayed the same over the years. But this time, Ryo won't be there. Stupid jackass! Why did he have to do that? Oh, forget about it, Ruki. It's no use. °  
  
Again, she blinked like mad.  
  
"Hey there."  
  
She looked up to see Jenrya standing behind the bench. He had grown. But despite that, he looked pretty much the same.  
  
She saw Juri and Takato come down the path. Takato didn't wear his goggles and Juri had her hair flowing down to her elbows. Suzie had grown a whole lot. She was thin and tall. She looked really cute.  
  
(A/N Sorry, but I'm not very thrilled by the idea of describing them exactly one by one, so I'll just skip that part. Imagine them how you want them to look like, okay?)  
  
Juri looked at her admiringly and the others seemed to be looking her over intensely as well.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Hey, you've really changed. Looking hot, girl!"  
  
"Her looks may have changed, but sure not her attitude."  
  
"Hey! I heard that, baka!"  
  
"Um. Wait a second. that's a dress, isn't it?"  
  
"No, Kazu, it's a pancake. Of course it's a dress, idiot."  
  
"Well, looks like you were right with the attitude thing, Takato."  
  
"Oh, shut up, vermin."  
  
"Hey.You're wearing his scarf." Jenrya stated quietly.  
  
". Yeah ."  
  
Nobody dared to say anything. But it seemed as everyone was excited of something. Maybe it had something to do with her surprise. She didn't care, though. She wanted to get it through as soon as possible.  
  
"Well, guys, let's get going, shall we?"  
  
The digital world was in a horrible state. Everything was grey and cold and she didn't see a digimon anywhere.  
  
"Lets go to the others. If we stay here too long, we might be discovered."  
  
°Wow! A pithy sentence from Kazu. He must have really changed.°  
  
They wandered for almost two hours. Then they reached a canyon. One by one they climbed down. Once at the bottom, Jenrya called into a dark cave. Their digimon came out. Calumon jumped to Ruki and welcomed her. Renamon hugged her carefully. She smiled. A bit weakly, but it was a smile. Then she noticed another digimon she had never seen before, not even on the digimon cards. It looked a bit like an ocelot. It glanced at her.  
  
"Is it her?"  
  
"Am I what? Who the heck are you?"  
  
The small digimon walked up to her and asked: "You fought with Akiyama Ryo against that Frogmon, right?"  
  
A bit shocked about the question, she nodded. "And you managed to give him your power, didn't you?"  
  
She nodded again, and a tear freed itself from its carefully closed prison. She frowned and wiped it away.  
  
"So you are the Chosen One, Makino Ruki. I'm Soulmon."  
  
That confused her.  
  
"I don't understand. Not even one word."  
  
"I'll explain. On earth, there are two souls that are way more powerful than anyone else. A male and a female. Because of their energy, they keep being reborn. And you're the female one."  
  
"What? How do you know that?"  
  
"Well, there's a book called 'The Chronicle Of The Two Worlds'. It tells how that two souls rescued both the real and the digital world in the past. And it tells a way to find them. But that would be too complicated to explain right now. Important is, I know that you are the Chosen One and I know, that the Chosen Ones can revive Digimon. Human souls are usually too weak for a resurrection."  
  
"You mean, I can revive Leomon. and Cyberdramon. and maybe even."  
  
She looked at the digimon, hope pulsating in her eyes. Soulmon smiled.  
  
"And Ryo, right."  
  
Then he turned to Jenrya.  
  
"Do you have the things I ordered?"  
  
The boy gave him a card game, a Monodramon figure and a doll that looked similar to that one Juri had carried around with her when she was younger.  
  
"If you concentrate on one of these things, you'll feel an D.N.A. string. It looks like a folded paper. Concentrate all your mind on unfolding it. Then you'll see the person or the digimon you're trying to revive. Grab it. If you feel substance, you made it."  
  
She looked her friends. Juri was extremely excited. Ruki smiled warmly at her.  
  
( A/N Ruki? Smiling WARMLY? I'm crazy!)  
  
"Well, guys, could you go elsewhere? I can concentrate better when I'm alone."  
  
They nodded and left her.  
  
She grabbed the doll and concentrated. Soon, she could see the paper, as Soulmon had described it. She was easily able to revive Leomon. He remembered his death and thanked Ruki for bringing him back. Then he went off searching Juri.  
  
She turned to the game. Cyberdramon was a little more complicated, but she was able to get him back as well. When she opened her eyes again, he looked a bit surprised.  
  
"What am I doing here? And where' s that Frogmon thing? And most of all, where's Ryo?"  
  
"Don't you remember it?"  
  
"Remember what? By the way, you're looking different. Older, and your hair is longer. hold on a second. that's a dress, isn't it?"  
  
"Well, what does it look like?" She sighed annoyed. "You were killed in the fight against Frogmon six years ago. I revived you a minute ago."  
  
"What?! You say I'm a zombie? That's a joke, isn't it?"  
  
"Um. not really. I don't really know why, but I'm obviously able to revive digimon. And now, you're alive again."  
  
"I understand not even one word."  
  
"I would explain it, if I could. Despite that, I need to do something really important. Go to the others. There's a digimon named Soulmon. Ask him."  
  
He eyed her.  
  
"And what do you need to do that's sooo important and urgent?"  
  
Her eyes got an almost dramatic glitter.  
  
".I'll bring Ryo back."  
  
"Oh. Then I'll leave now. Call me, if he's there again, okay?"  
  
"Sure, Cyberdramon. Welcome back."  
  
He nodded and flew off.  
  
She concentrated on the Monodramon figure. She had seen it once when she was at Ryo's house. Then Kazu had come and she had hidden in his room, because she didn't want him to know that she would willingly enter Ryo's home. She smiled at that.  
  
But this time, it wasn't as easy. She almost got a headache, but finally she saw him. He looked at her, smiling. She smiled back and walked up to him slowly. She touched his hand. For quite a while, she just stood there, wanting to burn the touch deep in her memories if she didn't suceed. Then she opened her eyes.  
  
He was real. And he was still holding her hand. And it didn't seem like he wanted to change that in the next few months. She snatched it away quickly and turned away from him.  
  
°Damn blushing. Damn hormones. Damn Ryo.°  
  
"Hey, Ruki. Nice seeing you again."  
  
Her blush was gone. But not her anger. The feelings and memories of six dark years flooded her mind like a river. She whirled around and slapped him as hard as she could. His surprised look didn't stop her. It just made her lose the temper even more.  
  
"Goddamned coward!" He stood up, his look replaced by one of bewilderment and questioning.  
  
"I-"  
  
"NO! I! Did you ever think about me? In any of your actings, did you EVER think about me?? First, you blow yourself up trying to make me feel guilty. Hey, guess what? It worked! Funny, right? Six goddamned years I spent with scolding myself for letting you die. I was trying everything to get your ass back in here, and anything you say is: 'Nice seeing you.' ?! Oh, god, even I didn't know how much I hate you, Akiyama!"  
  
she stopped for a moment in her angry yelling and took a deep breath. But as soon as she tried to start again, he grabbed her shoulders and pressed her against the wall.  
  
"What are you thinking why I did that, huh? I didn't want you to blame yourself, I wanted you to survive, for god's sake! I gave my live for yours! And all I get to hear from you is that you hate me. Fine! It couldn't be ANY better!" You could almost hear the sarcasm trickling out of his last words. He breathed and, before Ruki could start again, went on. "How long is it ago now that I beat you? Nine years? Won't you ever forget that, Ruki? I never treated you like I was superior, I think. But you won't ever accept me. I'm used to it, but can you do me a favour and keep your mouth just SHUT about it? I hate to say that, but I'm beginning to think you're heartless!"  
  
She tried to shove him away, giving her best not to show any emotion but anger. She was able to do that with anyone. But with him, it was different. Everything was different when he was around. But she wasn't totally sure if she liked or detested that. Her weak attempts to overwhelm him were of course fruitless since he was taller and a whole lot more powerful.  
  
"I'm NOT heartless! Or would I have tried to commit sui." She stopped herself, trying to hide what she had been about to say.  
  
°He doesn't need to know that I'm that weak when it comes to him.°  
  
"What do you know about me, about my life? I lost my best friend, but why would you care, huh? You're so perfect, that has to hurt, doesn't it?"  
  
She coughed and tried to calm her breathing. She felt his grip loosen. He spoke up again, but this time softly and quietly.  
  
"Yeah, right. It hurts."  
  
She looked at him in disbelief. He smiled weakly.  
  
"Because you hate me for that."  
  
She looked at him. In his eyes, she saw the hurt he was trying hard to hide. His eyes. Her source of power. But now, there was nothing but loneliness. He cast his gaze down, trying hard to avoid hers. Looking down, too, she said quietly:  
  
"I'm sorry, Ryo."  
  
She felt him release his hands from her shoulders, by now realising that they had rested there until now. She wouldn't have minded them staying there. His touches were always so intense, yet so light and gentle. She could barely stop an disappointed sigh from escaping her lips.  
  
°Well, usually I would say 'Damn him!', but I think I'm beginning to repeat myself. If I said 'Send him to hell!', maybe God would hear it and take it a little bit too serious, like last time. No need.°  
  
While she kept silently debating with herself, she didn't see or hear anything.  
  
Then suddenly, she felt two long sinewy arms slide around her waist and she was pulled into a tight embrace.  
  
"Hey wildcat. I missed you."  
  
Damn, she's so out of my league. But unfortunately, I couldn't hold myself. Stupid idiot, you're making everything worse. But how often have I tried to imagine the feeling of her body against mine? Three-thousand-seven- hundred-ninety-four? That could fit it.   
  
True, he had imagined exact that scene thousands of times before. But what didn't fit in his thoughts was Ruki. Not her presence. But she didn't defend herself from his 'attack'. She almost seemed to lean into the hold. And immediately, he mentally smacked himself for thinking that. Don't make up your hopes, stupid. It won't work. It never will. I should be glad Ruki sees me like a human being. But still, she's almost hugging back, isn't she?  
  
That fact was surprising Ruki even more.  
  
°I have the perfect occasion for my bloody revenge. I could probably make him unable to ever get kids. But still. I'm standing here in his arms, convincing myself that I hate him doing that and react in no way like that. No, I even almost threw my arms around him, too! I don't know.°  
  
He stopped her train of thoughts by letting go of her, yet almost hesitating.  
  
"Did you mean me by 'best friend'?"  
  
She looked up at him, and for the first time she noticed that he wasn't a boy anymore.  
  
His body had grown to how he should look by now. And he looked hot. He was over a head above her, slender hip, square shoulders. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day he had died. A red turtle-neck and wide khaki pants.  
  
Ryo took his first exact look at her as well. She had grown since he had seen her. Her body was perfect, thin and feminine. The red dress she was wearing fitted her great.  
  
They both realized at the same time that they must have been really staring at each other. Ruki quickly turned.  
  
° It's not like I care, but if he sees me like that, he might think I'm a tomato. And again I say, damned hormones.°  
  
She called for Renamon and they went to the cave again. While Ryo was about to get choked by the others, Ruki turned to Soulmon.  
  
"Well, you said, I could revive digimon."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"If I remember right, Ryo isn't a digimon."  
  
"No."  
  
"But you said that it usually doesn't work on humans, didn't you?"  
  
"Usually."  
  
She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Could you stop giving me one word answers and tell me what I was asking for?"  
  
Ryo sat down next to her.  
  
"Could someone please explain what the hell is going on here?"  
  
He demonstratively looked at Soulmon.  
  
"Well, on earth, there are two souls that keep being reborn. They're more powerful than any other and able to revive digimon and some humans. Ruki is the female one."  
  
A suspicion came into Ruki's mind.  
  
"But his soul must be very powerful to get revived, doesn't it?"  
  
"Right." The digimon looked as if he was smirking at her. "He is the male part of the Chosen Ones."  
  
They turned to look at each other, absolutely perplexed. Then Ryo smiled.  
  
"There you got it. You're chosen to love me. And you don't wanna prove the poor little digimon wrong, right?"  
  
She just glared. Okay, this one was extreme. Kazu would have pissed his pants. But, hey, we're talking about Ryo, right? He just grinned back at her.  
  
"You two were able to beat Frogmon, am I right?"  
  
Ruki frowned.  
  
"You are, but just because Mr. Legendary Tamer here had the irresistible urge to show his famous suicide stunt."  
  
"But I wouldn't have succeeded without your help, pumpkin."  
  
"Stop calling me that."  
  
"Okay, wildcat."  
  
"Uuuuh! Soulmon, if I kill him now, can I revive him later?"  
  
The digimon just smiled at that.  
  
"You need to learn two really important things. First: unquestioning trust."  
  
They nodded immediately.  
  
"Good. Second: a new digivolution."  
  
"What?! Cool!"  
  
"Hey, you should be going to a choir. Anyways, you'll digivolve to Sakuyamon and Justimon and then make a Hybrid digivolution. That means, you connect and become one being. You're called Justyamon then.  
  
(A/N Yeah, I know that's dumb, but I'm not really into names.)  
  
We start training tomorrow. So sleep early. And you have to synchronize perfectly."  
  
"Oh, great." She sighed annoyed.  
  
"Hey, come on, Ruki, I'm not that bad, am I?"  
  
"I didn't say you were, but I'm not really thrilled with having to act exactly like you."  
  
He ignored the last part and stated grinning:  
  
"So you think I'm good? I knew you liked me."  
  
"Grrrr."  
  
"Well, I'm not really surprised. I knew you would fall for me once. As good looking as I am."  
  
"That's enough. DIE!!!"  
  
She rushed at him and tried to grab his neck. He dodged and grabbed her wrists before she could reach him. Then he brought her to the ground, slowing her fall with his arms.  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
"Jerk."  
  
He grinned even more. Then he looked up. There stood Cyberdramon, Renamon, Lopmon, Terriermon, Juri, Takato and Jenrya. And they looked very interested. Way too interested. But it was an interesting situation, he had to admit. Ruki lying on the floor, Ryo kneeling above her, their faces only inches apart. He stood up quickly and grabbed the sleeping bag Takato had brought for him. That boy was most confused with the situation.  
  
"What the heck was that?"  
  
Then at least six voices whispering: "Shut up, Takato!"  
  
That seemed a little bit suspect to Ruki.  
  
Meanwhile, Ryo had placed his bag before the wall on the back of the cave. There was lying some sand, so she thought it would be softer there. A little bit unwillingly, she placed her sleeping bag next to Ryo's. He was already leaning against the wall, eyes closed.  
  
"Wanna sleep already?"  
  
He looked up, surprise drawn on his handsome features.  
  
"What makes you think that? I'm not lying down, am I?"  
  
She smiled.  
  
"Don't try that on me, Akiyama. You're always choosing some place from which you can overlook the whole terrain. Then you lean back at the wall which is principally always on your back, pull your legs up and sleep."  
  
"Where do you know that from?"  
  
That caught her off guard. She wouldn't, she couldn't say: 'Hey, didn't you notice that already? I'm always watching you in your sleep since you look so cute then.'  
  
"Uum. in that summer we spent here, I was about to get some fire wood. There I saw you."  
  
He wanted to ask why she had studied his position that interested, but that would only upset her.  
  
Well, if I think about it once more, it's actually pretty nice having her upset on me. That usually ends with a VERY close situation these days.  
  
But he kept his mouth shut though.  
  
A/N Yeah, I know, that soul thing sounds weird, but hey, I'm just an insane little Ryuki fan that tried her best to create a nice story. I accept flames and anything else, but like I said before, please don't be too harsh on me. ^o~ And I'll try to be faster with my next chap, deal? Ciao! 


	3. uncertain but happy for once

Ha, I told ya! The witch is back again! ^^' Anyway, here's my next chapter. Took me only. (counts on her fingers) twelve days! Good, huh? At least for me. Oh, and thanx for my eight reviews. You heard that? EIGHT! YAY! So, uhm. No. please. Don't make me say it. I'm sure you know. (sighs theatrically) Okay, nope, I own nothin'. Happy?  
  
"Aw, come on, Ruki! Let's just stop, okay? I'm quite close to just fall over and begin to snore." Ryo yawned and stretched his muscles.  
  
The girl smirked at him. "Well that's your problem. And believe me, the only thing I'd do is laugh."  
  
He yawned and answered with fake hurt: "Oooh, Baby, don't do that do me, please!" He grinned widely as he saw her reaction.  
  
"If you EVER call me 'Baby' again, I'll kill you. Without any resurrection possibility. Okay, Muscle Man?"  
  
"Hey, I didn't know you were that interested in the visible part of my great self." If possible, the grin widened even more. Ruki snorted.  
  
"I'm not. And now you owe me another try." "I don't owe you nothing." "You owe at least five hundred thousand dollars if I wanted you to pay smart money."  
  
Ryo sighed. "Okay, okay, I give up, Amazon Queen." "Oh, please, don't talk to me more than necessary. And if you have to, stop calling me these damn stupid nicknames, will ya?"  
  
He nodded, still smirking at her, and stepped back into place. It was close to six p.m. and they were trying to get the Hybrid Digivolution straight. Without much success.  
  
But Ruki wouldn't do anything like give up if it hadn't worked for at least once. Though Ryo had, after almost eleven hours without break, lost his interest.  
  
"Stop complaining and start already." He sighed and nodded once again, and after Cyberdramon came up with the fact that he actually had to try once again too, everything was ready.  
  
It worked well until it came to start the HD. (A/N: Guess what that means? RIGHT!)  
  
Even though she gave her best to convince herself into something else, she knew exactly why it didn't work. She was distracted.  
  
Actually, they would have still been undressed in those lightning circles. But somehow Jenryas Dad had managed to add underwear in the program.  
  
And Ruki was beyond glad of that. But they hadn't planned in that distraction. Hell, even she herself hadn't thought it would disturb so much.  
  
She wore a bra and panties, both black. At first, she had cursed Mr. Lee for not creating her a night gown or something like that. Now she cursed him for Ryo's bare Torso. For the boxers she thanked every god she could remember.  
  
Every damn time they tried that damn Digivolution, she had to face him and her damn eyes wouldn't stay on his face. And her damn hormones wouldn't calm down and distract her concentration constantly.  
  
Her only comfort and at the same time biggest anxiety was that he obviously didn't do much better, and probably not because of his own bare chest. More likely, it was because of her more or less dressed form.  
  
And of course she had guessed right. I mean, what would you do if your secretly beloved stood half naked in front of you?  
  
Goddammit, goddammit, goddammit! Why can't I touch her? Its so unfair!  
  
°Goddammit, goddammit, goddammit! Why can't I make him touch me?. Uhm. just a second. WHAT?! Holy cheese, I knew it! I'm totally and absolutely crazy!°  
  
Her embarrassed gaze met its worst enemy again. Bare flesh. °Ooookay, so I'm crazy. But why the hell do I get the feeling that it isn't that bad?°  
  
"Ruki!" Her head shot to Renamon. Uhm. Renamon? Weren't they supposed to be one being? She looked down and realized that she was gonna hit the ground. Hard. Soon. Renamon couldn't do anything because she was set off in a totally different direction. She closed her eyes and breathed in.  
  
But the only unwanted feeling was that of the hormones flooding her mind while she felt herself get caught by two strong arms. And pulled into a embrace that was needed to hold her and his balance.  
  
She didn't dare to look up. As she finally did, she met those familiar sky blue eyes and a incredibly wide and impudent grin.  
  
"Wow, I never really thought you'd ever cling onto me like that, pumpkin." Not that I haven't dreamt of it, though.  
  
She recovered quickly and growled between gritted teeth:  
  
"Akiyama. Let. go. of. me! NOW!"  
  
He set her down, still smiling.  
  
"So when are we gonna tell the others that you're in immortal love with me?"  
  
"Uuuh, that was the last thing you ever said, amoeba. I'll kill you at least five times!" His laughter was covered by a loud war cry.  
  
This time she had gotten slyer. She faked to go at his throat again, but then immediately concentrated on his stomach. But that was still not sly enough. He turned to the left. She was too fast and couldn't hold her balance. He caught her before she hit the ground, but just nanoseconds later his hands wrapped around her arms like steel bonds.  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
She sighed resignedly. "Looks like you did."  
  
He got up from his kneeling position and said: "Admit it, Digiqueen, you don't stand a chance to me when you're angry."  
  
"Baboon."  
  
He looked at her again and smirked. Then he turned to return to the cave.  
  
Ruki was the first to go to bed (A/N Or at least sleeping bag) since she was absolutely exhausted. When Ryo was sure she was asleep, he quietly left the others and sat down next to her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.  
  
I'm beginning to think I'm insane. Wait, correction, I know I'm insane. I'm twenty one now. I know her for nine years. No denying it, I had a crush on that stubborn ten year old girl. That probably stopped while I wasn't alive. Bad thing is, it got replaced with something even harder to resist. And again no denying it, I'm in love. Boy, I'm the one in here that's an 'adult' after all. And all I can bring myself to do is sit here and stare at her. What wouldn't I do for her? A crush convinced me into killing myself, so the question is what I'm ready to do for her safety this time.  
  
I would do anything for love  
  
I'd run right into hell and back  
  
And I would do anything for love I'd never lie to you and that's a fact  
  
Oh my god, look at me, I'm getting philosophical. That girl drives me crazy. I think she was happy to see me again. at least after our little 'argument'. But I won't get her heart, anyway how hard I'm trying to. God, seven years. Looks like I'm just some pervert, love sick, crazy idiot, but. boy, what can I do? I can't help it.  
  
(A/N Sorry, I couldn't help it either, I LOVE that song. It's from Meat Loaf, really cool guy, and called 'I would do anything for Love'. Maybe you've heard it. If not, change that fact immediately. And, uhm, just pretend that Ryo wasn't 'totally' dead, some part of his mind stayed alive with all his feelings, okay? ^-^')  
  
It took almost one month to hold the HD longer than five minutes. Then suddenly it worked way better. They had learned to tolerate each other. Well, they had learned to tolerate the underwear thing.  
  
Soulmon was there again, explaining the way their enemies would attack.  
  
"It's just like a pyramid. First off come the Qiurilmon, they're a little bit hawk like and not that big. You can wipe them off surface with one shot. These digimon could even be beaten by one of your friends and their digimon. Before you ask, yes, Cyberdramon and Renamon are special, too. But I won't explain that. Back to the main theme. Following the ten or so birdies are three Rocketmon. They are like your real world wolves. Just more powerful and faster. But they're just as easy to defeat. Now we come to the higher league. You'll be battling Tintmon. Despite his name, he's like a snake. And he acts like one, so beware. He's as powerful as the Qiurilmon and Rocketmon together. But if you concentrate you'll beat him. And your final enemy is Aradmon and, surprise, surprise, she's a frog!"  
  
"What? Frogmon was one, too!" "So you think she'll come for revenge?" "Probably, but is it more important why she wants to kill you or that she won't succeed?"  
  
There wasn't really any need for an answer. "Well, in every case, she's really hard to defeat. Maybe you'll have trouble, but I think with teamwork it should come out the way we want."  
  
"Well, even if it doesn't, I'll rather go and lose my life than sit here with my hands in my lap." "Ryo, I'm warning you. Don't you dare bring a suicide stunt again, understood?" He sighed resignedly. "Of course, my Queen."  
  
(A/N: Well, okay, I'll tell why in my summary isn't anything mentioned about action. It's the simple fact that I seem to be unable to write anything that would anyone consider action. So we'll just close our eyes, count to three hundred fifty four, and tata! Our couple has beaten the Qiurilmon and Rocketmon and the fight against Tintmon is in the fourth quarter, okay?)  
  
Tintmon cried out. "Damn humans! I will destroy you!" Ryo smirked. "Sure you will." One could tell that Tintmon was more dead than alive. But obviously he had an immense hatred against Ryo. Probably because he didn't take him serious at all. In his last moments he managed to shoot an arrow and Ryo couldn't get out of its way. The arrow pierced his left side. Immediately, he gritted his teeth to not make any sound. Ruki asked without turning around: "Are you okay?" "Of course." His voice sounded a bit pressed, but she was busy with finishing off her challenger. Having done that, she wanted to turn and face him, but before she could do anything she heard a quiet moan and suddenly, she was falling towards the ground because both Digivolutions had separated. Renamon caught her and she turned to get her male partners killed. But as she saw with one it wouldn't take that much work anymore. Cyberdramon was fine and looked a bit bewildered. Ryo on the other hand was lying on the ground, groaning with every move and pressing his hand into his left side.  
  
She sighed, put on an annoyed face to cover her worry and walked over.  
  
"So what is it THIS time, Mr. Perfect?"  
  
He looked up at her, just as annoyed. And for a second she thought she had seen hurt in his eyes. Not pain, but hurt.  
  
"Wanna guess, Ice Princess?" She looked down at his side and noticed the arrow end standing out of his bleeding flesh. She was pretty much shocked and yelled at him.  
  
"I asked you if you were okay! Why didn't you tell me?" "You had been busy. And at that time, I was okay." She growled.  
  
"Does it hurt?" He snorted. "Noooo, of course not. What do you think, that I'm lying here and wincing just for fun?" She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, calm down. Can you walk?" "Stupid question, of course I can."  
  
He stood up, doing his best to stop groaning. He had been standing for exactly three seconds when he suddenly lost his balance and his knees gave in. the only thing Ruki could do was prevent his head from colliding with the hard ground. She smirked.  
  
"Earth ground, Ryo. Ryo, earth ground."  
  
He bit his bottom lip with pain, annoyance, anger and embarrassment written on his features. °Mmmm. that looks hot. .Ahem. Stop thinking such SHIT, Ruki!°  
  
"Sorry, dear, I don't have the nerves for your sort of humour now, okay? So do me a favour and just bring me to Soulmon."  
  
She turned to Renamon and Cyberdramon. "Come on, buddy, take your 'master' and bring him to Soulmon. We're going, too, Renamon."  
  
  
  
Soulmon looked up from the wound, frowning. Ryo groaned and asked between gritted teeth:  
  
"How did that arrow get through our shield? And why the hell is that little thing causing such pain?"  
  
"I told you, didn't I?"  
  
"I adore your attempts of comforting me, Ruki, but I'm gonna get through this MY way. Uuuuuh! Shit!"  
  
Soulmon had pulled the arrow out. He pressed his hand against the wound and leaned back, closing his eyes. He tried his best to hold the groaning back, but didn't really succeed. Now, she got really worried. Ryo never made such a big deal of his pain. He must have been hurt pretty badly.  
  
Soulmon spoke up, still frowning deeply: "Well, if you weren't the Chosen One, you would have been dead in that moment the arrow hit you. And you aren't able to resist the poison any longer."  
  
"What poison?" The young man coughed.  
  
"The poison that's flooding all your important organs and slowly killing you right now. And the bad thing is, if we lose you now, there won't ever be a resurrection."  
  
Now, the girl was worried like hell.  
  
"What can we do about it?"  
  
"Well, we need your help, Female Chosen One."  
  
°Anything. I'll do anything. Just. don't let him die again.°  
  
"What shall I do?"  
  
"Well. you have to kiss him."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
°Okay, almost everything.°  
  
"Ooooh, no, forget about that. Isn't there any other way?"  
  
"That's really /cough/ impossible, Soulmon!"  
  
She turned to the young man, looking a bit offended.  
  
"You don't want me to kiss you?"  
  
What a question! I would kill to kiss you!   
  
"That's not what I meant. I thought /cough/ you didn't want to kiss me."  
  
°No way!. But. I don't know anymore, Ryo.°  
  
"But, Soulmon, what should that change? A simple kiss?" The digimon paused, knowing that she wasn't gonna like what he was gonna say next.  
  
"Not simple. Ahem, let's just say, all of your body fluids would get him better, but I think this way is the best for both of you."  
  
Ruki looked way beyond shocked. "ALL of my.? Ugh, that's disgusting! So, it has to be with tongue and all?" Soulmon nodded and Ryo's face almost seemed to light up a tiny bit. Ruki frowned.  
  
"Well, let's say, if you're able to beat me in that condition, you'll get your antidote, deal?"  
  
He looked at her, then nodded. She looked back at him and felt sorry that she didn't help him first. He looked really troubled. But she wouldn't give in that quickly.  
  
She let her hand slide along his stomach. He was surprised and unconsciously pulled it on, arching his back while he did. She had figured that and hit him in the hollows of his knees. He lost his balance and fell. She tried to soften his bound, but finally she fell, too and landed on his lap. Quickly, she wrapped her hands around his wrists. She smiled a bit.  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
He didn't return her expression and looked down. "Okay. Thanx for letting me at least try." She was barely able to hear it, but his voice was trembling. He wasn't scared, she was sure. It was just that he looked really lonely.  
  
"Hey, Akiyama!"  
  
He hesitatingly looked at her once again. She took a deep breath. Then she bent down and kissed him softly.  
  
He was taken aback about her sudden 'attack' at first, but then he leaned into the kiss.  
  
I'm kissing her, I'm kissing her, I'm kissing her! Probably the only time in my life, but I'm kissing her.  
  
Slowly and hesitatingly, the kiss got more intense. And without even really thinking, Ruki opened her mouth to allow him in. He seemed to be just as shy as she was herself, but finally his tongue slid from his mouth to hers. And immediately and with even less thinking, Ruki began to respond. He kissed good. REALLY good. And the girl inwardly cursed herself for enjoying it. Finally, she pulled back and looked in his eyes. He smiled gratefully. And she could make out another emotion. But she couldn't get what it was. After looking at him for a quite long time, she smiled back and got up.  
  
A/N Hey, I know every word of my story sounds strange. That antidote thing was written bad, but I wanted her to kiss him and I couldn't think of another solution, so bear with me. If you didn't like it, then forget the following chapters. If yes, then please REVIEW! 


	4. here we go again, darling

Whoohoo, eight days! I'm getting better! Well, I wanna thank all the reviewers, I'm glad you like it, and a special thanx to Sam, if you're still with me. Your comment made me happy. ^____^ So, and if you're a new join to my "fan club" (Hey, you don't have to laugh that loud!) I hope you'll like my weird babbling, and if you have a keyboard and some free time, don't hesitate to review! Now on with the plot. (Yes, there IS a plot. *Growls*)  
  
Okay, okay, I don't own Ryo, neither with fourteen nor twenty one, no matter much I'd want to. And neither do I own the Song 'I would do anything for love' performed by Meatloaf. I just love it.  
  
At the next morning, Ryo was completely recovered. They both avoided talking about the kiss.  
  
°Wow. we're here for almost a quarter of the year now. . I miss Grandma.°  
  
Soulmon showed up once again.  
  
"Your training isn't ended, Chosen Ones. You saw the damage one arrow can do, and it didn't even come from Aradmon. She's way more dangerous. And she's after you two."  
  
"What?! Why didn't you tell us that earlier?" One could tell that Soldier Boy didn't really like that confession.  
  
"I didn't know either, Ryo. Calm down."  
  
"What do you mean by 'after us'?"  
  
"Some little digimon told me yesterday night, it heard her asking some other digimon for 'The Legendary Tamer and his girl' and then deleting them."  
  
"I'M NOT HIS GIRL!"  
  
Unfortunately.  
  
"That's not really important right now, is it? You can tell her that later. But to be strong enough to make it to the talking point, I suggest that we start practising already!" And they did.  
  
After a hard week of training night and day, they didn't have to wait long.  
  
Some days later, they ate lunch made by Ryo.  
  
"Mmmm. sat tastes great!" Ruki slurred.  
  
(A/N Unfortunately, I don't know what slurring sounds like in English. ^^#)  
  
"I know, but you shouldn't be speaking with a full mouth, Ruki."  
  
She gulped, stuck her tongue out and shot a rice ball at him.  
  
"Jerk."  
  
He grinned at her.  
  
"I'm totally aware of that."  
  
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. They jumped up and looked at each other worriedly.  
  
Renamon, Cyberdramon and Soulmon raced to them.  
  
(A/N Just to let you know, the other tamers disappeared again, because they couldn't skip school. Let's just pretend that Ruki is done with school, okay?)  
  
Renamon sniffed and shivered.  
  
"What is it, Renamon?"  
  
"A very dark and powerful energy is coming closer."  
  
"That's Aradmon."  
  
"Thanks for the input, Soulmon, but I figured that already."  
  
"Well, then. let's go, pumpkin. Shall we?"  
  
"Stop calling me that *and* wildcat *and* Ice Princess. Got it?"  
  
"Okay, Your Majesty."  
  
She sighed once more and biomerged, Ryo doing the same. Then they grabbed each other's hands.  
  
"Justimon!"  
  
"Sakuyamon!"  
  
"Hybrid Digivolution toooo. Justyamon!"  
  
"Let's go, sweetheart!"  
  
"You're *so* dead, Akiyama!"  
  
They were in light circles similar to those in a normal fusion. But now they were dressed.  
  
(A/N Would have been a little bit pervert, if they weren't, now wouldn't it?)  
  
A bit odd, though. Ruki wore a purple robe that played around her body. Ryo wore a white blouse thing that was tied over the chest and hat oddly wide sleeves and black pants. They looked like they had just been 'imported' from the middle ages.  
  
Their circles were close, but they couldn't touch each other. Whenever they tried to exit their light circle, a heavy height was laid on them. The more they got out of their circles, the heavier it got. So it was better if they stayed where they were.  
  
Aradmon fought hard and how Ruki noticed kinda bitterly. The same bitterness Ruki saw her mother in whenever one of her boyfriends left. The same bitterness that had burned itself in her heart deeply since the depart of her father.  
  
But anyway what they tried, they weren't able to cause any serious damage. Their ideas and their powers were disappearing rapidly.  
  
"That can't be! Whatever we try, she doesn't even seem to feel it! We can't go on like that. There must be a solution!"  
  
"Oh, don't be sad, little girl. There is a good way to get out of this."  
  
The cold and cruel voice made both their heads shoot up. The digimon laughed evilly and cruelly, but her face held a sad expression.  
  
"I loved him. We were happy, but then you two had to show up and screw our lives up. Now I'm about to do the same to you."  
  
Demonstratively slow, she locked her gaze on Ryo.  
  
"If one of you is willing to sacrifice his life, then I'll let the other one, the digimon and the digital world live in peace. Deal?"  
  
Ruki eyed her and asked suspiciously: "And why would you do that? He died because of both of us, remember?"  
  
"Then, the remaining one would suffer like me."  
  
The speculation hidden in that statement caught her off guard.  
  
"Why are you thinking that?"  
  
But the cold black eyes were locked on Ryo again. He knew that his enemy was almost able to smell his decision. He hadn't been aware of the fact that his feelings for the hot tempered redhead were that obvious.  
  
"Okay. I'll do it." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------  
  
A/N Seems like I have a thing for Ryo sacrificing himself. But I know I'm crazy, no need to tell me. I hope to see you next time. And I hope that you've reviewed till then! 


	5. Clueless

Ruki stared at him confused, but then she snorted.  
  
°Well, if he expects me to cling onto my saviour, then he's gonna be heavily disappointed.°  
  
But something in his eyes made her think that he would want anything but that.  
  
°But if I knew what he wanted it would get somehow boring. Solving riddles is WAY more fun.°  
  
She almost rolled her eyes at her sarcasm. She did this very often these days.  
  
Meanwhile, Aradmon was still looking at them, now wearing a superior grin that seemed to invite Ryo's fists. Gritting his teeth, he tried to keep his cool as good as possible. He wasn't totally succeeding though. The grin widened even more.  
  
"You love her, don't you?"  
  
Now it was to both their eyes to widen. Ryo gulped, fortunately going unnoticed by the cause of his sudden uneasiness.  
  
I would rather get myself castrated by Cyberdramon than saying it in front of her. But there's no denying it either.  
  
The best was good old trick seventeen. Avoid the subject.  
  
"Man, it's probably quite interesting to see what idea of cruel revenge a bloated baseball has."  
  
"I'd slow down my sarcasm, Lover Boy. Well, answering your question: I will get some fun for myself, though I don't think the both of you will find it funny unless you are really heavily into sadomaso. Then I'll kill you with a poisoned arrow which will stop a rebirth. Still interested, sweetie?"  
  
His eyes narrowed and you could see the muscles in his jaw move. This was harder than he had expected. It would have been better if this whole thing had started before he seriously began to hope for Ruki's affection.  
  
"Swear that you won't hurt any being again after my death."  
  
"All right." "Okay. The deal stands."  
  
"Hellooo? I'm still there, dumb asses! And don't expect me to agree with anything. You won't get any more easy escapes from the difficulties of life, Legendary Tamer. This time, you'll keep on sitting on your butt, damn coward."  
  
°Which is really incredibly hot. But it isn't the right time to discuss that topic.°  
  
Easy escape? I'm going through the hardest time of my life for that so called escape! Ah, damn love! Damn stubbornness! Damn evil digimon! DAMN RUKI!  
  
He frowned and looked at her.  
  
"Oh, of course, Ice Princess. I'm doing all this JUST to go and hide of my life. See, actually I wouldn't mind keeping it! But either I would have you blaming me for the destroy of the digital world or my guilt blaming me for your death. If I'm dead, you can blame me for whatever you want but thank God I won't hear it! Hey, try to see it the positive way. You'll be free of me, now isn't that worth a scream of joy?"  
  
°And just WHAT is positive about you not being there anymore?°  
  
"You're such a coward, Akiyama! I always knew you would take the easy way out whenever you get the chance to! But what exactly do you think we'll gain from this? Mercy from this oversized TOAD?"  
  
"HEY!" Aradmon protested furiously. "I'M NO- "  
  
"Oooh, SHUT UP!"  
  
°Wow, now we even synchronize at getting angry.°  
  
The two looked at each other again. Their gazes hardened while both their hearts began to tighten. No one was willing to give in.  
  
"I'll rather get myself killed than having to see Cyberdramon's, Renamon's and your death. It could even save a world, couldn't it?"  
  
"Don't tell be you believe this freak! Why would she let us go? DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME, JERK!" The girl shouted at the top of her lungs. She noticed tears stinging in her eyes and frowned.  
  
°Why won't that stupid idiot listen to me for ONCE?! WHY?! Doesn't he see what he's doing to me? . Well, let's see, even I don't know exactly what he's ding to me, but I know damn well that it hurts! I can't take losing him again!°  
  
His cerulean eyes softened and became kind of melancholic.  
  
"I'm sorry, pumpkin. But you won't stop me."  
  
He allowed his gaze to wander over her body once again. One last painful look into her lavender orbs caused a stinging in his chest. He inhaled deeply and finally tore his gaze apart. Then he turned and said almost emotionless:  
  
"Let's get started, baseball."  
  
The green thing smirked nastily and Ruki closed her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was REALLY fearing something. The loss of. well, what was he to her, what had he become? She quite couldn't tell, but she knew she would break down again if he died. But this time she was sure she wouldn't get up again.  
  
Again, she heard the impact of an hard blast with his skin. How soft and vulnerable this skin had to be now. He wasn't the untouchable, unbeatable eternal enemy anymore. He was as human and mortal as possible. Too human and mortal than she could stand.  
  
He did his very best to not let her know his pain. Yet, sometimes he couldn't stop a moan from escaping through his hardly gritted teeth. Why did he do this? Why did he hurt her so much? She heard a slight thud and her eyes shot open, afraid of what she would see. He had collapsed but managed to get himself in a sitting position. She knew he was already half unconscious, but still he never took his eyes off the enemy. He pushed himself up again, closing his eyes in a desperate try to control himself and not break down and give up. He didn't want to give up. And she just stood there, watching him die. She couldn't seem to move, unable to break free of her state of shock and fear. She could only stare wide-eyed. Suddenly, he turned his head. He looked at her. And smiled. So warm and caring she had never seen anyone look at her before.  
  
With that, something inside her snapped. No. she wouldn't let him die. She wouldn't let him down. Never ever. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She took a slow step forward. Immediately, the pressure became harder. It was nagging at her mind, nearly driving her insane the more she moved into his direction. It wasn't long until she thought she would break down.  
  
°No, Ruki. You can't do this to him. You have to go on.°  
  
She reminded herself how strong he was, so deeply hurt and still he had smiled at her as if nothing ever hurt him. As weak as his body might be, his soul was the strongest she would ever know. Another step was done, but slowly she could sense the exhaustion taking over.  
  
She was too weak.  
  
And she hated herself for being weak.  
  
Her eyes narrowed in fear and incredible pain as she saw the energy ball drawing closer and looked at Ryo, silently begging for him to flee.  
  
But he wasn't even trying to get out of its way. He just stood there like a rock, daring the storm to come and try to break him down.  
  
Ruki closed her eyes in horror as the ball collided with his muscular body, throwing it aback. Most of his clothing was ripped up and revealed bleeding wounds all over his body. He was obviously determined to not let the painful groaning erupt from his throat as he hit the ground, but it wasn't at all working. Though, he managed to stand up, waiting for the final shot. He closed his eyes to hide the tears threatening to well up in his beautiful blue eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry. Bye, wildcat. I guess I won't see you again."  
  
Shit, why is my life so DAMN SCREWED? Ooops, correction, why is my life so DAMN MUCH OVER?!?!  
  
°Come on, Ruki, don't cry, you're so close! You can do it. You have to do it!°  
  
Why was it so hard? He had done this thing before. It wasn't unfamiliar. And he wasn't afraid. He was. sad. If only he could have five more minutes, five minutes to make his love understand. He didn't do this to leave her. He tried to save her. But he knew if he looked at her, at her sad and tearful expression again, it would get even harder. For both of them.  
  
So he kept his eyes to him, trying hard to ignore the desperate longing for her lavender orbs, radiating a hidden warmth like nothing else. It wasn't the pain that was getting to him, it was this need. An useless need, but the most powerful one he ever experienced. He couldn't stand it and collapsed on his knees. He was sure his head would collide with the bottom once again, but partly he longed for the embracing darkness unconsciousness would bring him. It was .peaceful.  
  
But suddenly he felt something catch him, holding him close. She couldn't.  
  
"Ruki?" His voice was hoarse, barely over a whisper. He only felt her tighten her hold on him in response. And despite all sadness and pain, he felt happiness shining trough. A small smile found its way to his handsome features. He sat up and pulled her closer. Ruki buried her face into his chest, careful to not touch one of his many wounds. He could feel her smile exhaustedly against his torso. One of her knees slid between his, to make their position comfortable. And surprisingly, they WERE comfortable. Live for the moment, my mom always said.  
  
He probably should have wondered why she was embracing him like this. But he didn't care at all.  
  
For the second time in his life, he was truly happy.  
  
"You won't leave me, Akiyama. I'm not gonna let you."  
  
It sounded more like an unconscious whisper than something she was aware of saying. But nonetheless, that brought him back to reality. An arrow would come soon in order to kill him and if they stayed like that Ruki would catch it instead. He closed his eyes once again, feeling this overwhelming need to blow something up. ANYTHING.  
  
"Ruki. please, let go of me. you would be killed. Please, get out of the way."  
  
He felt her embrace tighten even more. He closed his eyes, debating what he could do.  
  
I would give my life to just hold her like that for longer. But I won't ever give hers.  
  
He sighed, stood up and lifted her up along with him. His one arm slipped under her knees and the other one supported her back while he lifted her up gently and turned around. His body built up like a wall to protect her.  
  
But she didn't seem to be very pleased by that. She just responded with a somewhat annoyed and desperate groan.  
  
"Set me down. NOW! I don't really want to lie here and see you idiot killing yourself ONCE AGAIN! Do you actually think that's funny?!"  
  
He groaned exaggerated, sliding his hand down his face in a fruitless attempt to keep his calm.  
  
"Do you actually think I'm pleased to let myself get poisoned?!"  
  
But yet again, his voice found back to its soft and caring tone. "Try to understand it, Ruki, that's my only choice. I'm saving you at any cost. And Cyberdramon and Renamon. and maybe a whole world!"  
  
The girl snorted. "Oh, get a life, stupid! And you goon could beat me? I don't believe it! You don't really think she'll let us go, do you? Just one question: what if *your* beloved got killed and you were able to destroy both the murders? Would you let one of them get away that quickly? I wouldn't for sure."  
  
°I'm going to tear her apart even for doing so much as hurting you.°  
  
He thought about it. In all his 'I'll protect Ruki' business he hadn't really considered the possibility that the toad was lying. But it was pretty logic.  
  
"Well. Okay, you won. Any ideas for plan B?"  
  
"Soulmon told me if we concentrate hardly we can combine our light shields into one that's more powerful."  
  
"And you've got me annoying you the whole time without being able to avoid me."  
  
°Oh, well, it has a major advantage though. You won't be dead.°  
  
"I think I can handle that, Akiyama. Now we concentrate on being one individual. That helps build up the shield. Or do you think she's gonna shoot us down with pink cotton swabs?"  
  
"Not really. Then let's do it, wildcat!" She flashed him a dirty look which he answered with a sheepish smile. He set her down and took her hand in his. She, now standing before him, leaned back against his broad chest. It was so comforting.  
  
°Nononononononono!!! Concentrate on the shield, not him!°  
  
She heard a hissing sound and opened her eyes. "Oh, SHIT!" She jumped to the side, pulling an absolutely dumbfounded Ryo along with her. And really, the arrow pierced the shield right away.  
  
"Uh.Ruki? Seems it doesn't work. Back to plan A?"  
  
°Never ever. You'd have to go through me first.°  
  
"Uh. I think it does work, I was just, uh. distracted."  
  
".Okay." He seemed a little bit bewildered but let his arms slide around her waist again. She banned Ryo out of her mind, begging for it to work. If it didn't, she would never be able to pay that Soulmon thing back.  
  
She saw the next arrow coming up. She held out her hands, trying to support the barrier with her palms. And the flying object slowed its pace and finally fell down exactly before her feet. A satisfied smirk found its way to both their faces.  
  
Confused, Aradmon cried out: "Oh, why can't you bastards just suffer and die like everyone else? You're so annoying!" Arrow after arrow fell to the ground, unable to break through their protection.  
  
She snuggled closer to him, resting her hands on his again.  
  
"It works." "Okay, you won again." "I knew I would." "You always get the better of me." She stiffened almost unnoticeable before getting her walls back up.  
  
°What the hell was that supposed to mean?!°  
  
They knew both very well that he had placed the ambiguous statement just to tease her. But only one knew what he meant, and the other felt pretty uncomfortable being clueless.  
  
°Okay. 'You always get the better of me'. In which way? And, more important, which way would I prefer? Gah, I really need something like a thoughts reading machine. That guy is a book with seven seals to me. But, hey, that's what fun's about, ain't it? Cluelessness.°  
  
God, if I ever manage to tell her about it, I'm sure I'll get some new Nobel Prize, like 'The Nobel Prize Of Courage' or such. Either she'll immediately strangle me or she'll run and never look at me again. Wonderful, isn't it?  
  
He cursed everyone he could remember being responsible for the fact that Ruki disliked him. The most he was blaming himself.  
  
A/N: Hey, folks, here we part once again. Well, you see, I like reviews, as you might have learned in my earlier chapters, but hey. I can live without them. You won't get me to stop, no matter what you're trying to. But I think I'll end it soon. I'm getting bored.^^'  
  
Muchas gracias, amigos! 


	6. Not so much routine

Ruki was quite comforted with the way this turned out. They'd most likely be able to take this thing down in five minutes. And she got to lean against him that whole time. On this matter, Ruki had given up telling herself that she did not need anyone, did not want anyone near her. Sure, she had never experienced before what it was like to really need someone, but it was pretty obvious that the warm and save feeling anywhere close to him and the violent sting in her chest whenever she thought of him dying -again- weren't caused by her morning coffee.  
  
Still in the circle, still in her weird robe and still in his tight embrace, she was almost automatically blocking the arrows now. Then she turned her head back, looked at her object of passion questioningly.  
  
"Attack now or not?"  
  
He grinned at her. "Operation Broken Arrow successfully going on, on to stage two!"  
  
"Oh, shut up, will you?"  
  
"I told you you shouldn't, didn't I?"  
  
"Well, rather hearing your pointless crap than seeing you die again. Although the choice was tough."  
  
He grinned, knowing full well that she didn't mean a bit of her irritated platter. "Well, what attack?"  
  
"The Destroying Claw?"  
  
"Nah, not enough. We'll have to take her down quickly, I'm afraid we can't hold this stage of digivolution for long."  
  
"Oh my god, you're THINKING! What happened?"  
  
He smirked. "Oh, all sarcastic again, now aren't we? Okay, deal: You come up with something useful - I shut up."  
  
"Hmm. The Magic Shield?"  
  
"Okay, that's a good one."  
  
"I know. Are we on?"  
  
"Bet on it."  
  
She turned around again, looking at the evil thing in front of her which she knew was getting pretty pissed at her smirk. It was announcing that Aradmon had lost, and all five of them knew it.  
  
"Let's get to it."  
  
The Magic Shield was some sort of. well, in space you would call it something like a black hole. It was actually nothing, a dangerous nothing that absorbed all energy around it. And sending it against a living being, whether it be a plant or an animal or a human or a digimon didn't matter, made sure that you'd never see a sign of it ever again. Because of the ongoing exchange of all sorts of energies in all sorts of places, it would simply get absorbed, the whole thing would vanish into nothingness. No data pieces, just not being there nor being anywhere anymore. And that was exactly what was happening to Aradmon. But it was slow and it took a lot of the ones sending it, meaning Renamon, Cyberdramon, Ruki and especially Ryo who was still slightly troubled by the after effects of the other digimon's venom.  
  
Aradmon was only a shadow of her former self when Ruki suddenly felt Ryo's grip tighten painfully on her hip and then loosening dangerously. Also, she saw how the Shield lost most of its power by the second. She spun around, just in time to see Ryo faint. In reflex, she caught him and steadied him. Then, she let him slide to the ground softly and looked up at her opponent.  
  
"Renamon?"  
  
"Yes, Ruki?" responded her friend in her own voice.  
  
"We have to break this up and bring Ryo to Soulmon. He's ill again."  
  
"Alright."  
  
As soon as the digimon let the Shield fade away, the enemy collapsed to the ground without further movement, so Ruki chose it would be alright if they left the fight for now. The four of them separated and once again, she plopped down and scooped him up in her arms. Cyberdramon lifted them off the ground and the quartet took off.  
  
Renamon looked at Ruki. The girl wore a frown, a deep one. And she knew it. But as she looked down, she discovered that her own expression was only a sorry mirror of Ryo's. He looked so pained that it almost seemed to radiate on to her, too.  
  
°Why is it that death seems so impatient about getting to him? Isn't it enough that I'm all crazy and affected?°  
  
As much as she hated that confession, even to herself, the thought of losing him forever caused her an incredible pain, especially when she didn't tell him her true feelings yet. The only problem was that she still wasn't sure what exactly she felt, what she would do if they'd both make it back to normal again. What would life be like with him by her side? What would it be like without him? She was way too used to his closeness, she realized. When they'd return, the lack of his presence would surely nag at the back of her mind. Well, if they'd return.  
  
Cyberdramon set his feet on the ground just seconds before Renamon followed suit. Ruki let go of the boy's head and hopped down.  
  
"Soulmon! Are you in there?"  
  
No answer. She looked around. Damn, why hadn't they asked where to find the thing if there was an emergency. At the moment, there definitely -was- one.  
  
"SOULMON! Get your bloody fat ass here!"  
  
"I'm here, Ruki. What happened to get you that worked up?"  
  
She didn't respond, just took a step aside to let the digimon see what miserable state Ryo was in. Again.  
  
"Oh my god, what happened?! He's nearly dead!"  
  
"I don't know, okay! He- he just collapsed!"  
  
Ruki was sure, if he had been able the digimon would have frowned as well.  
  
"Just DO something, will you?!"  
  
"Calm down, Ruki. You're being hysteric and that won't help him at all. Just go sit over there and I will see what I can do. Cyberdramon, if you could help me get him in?"  
  
The other digimon nodded and lifted the motionless body off the ground again. Ruki turned away and gritted her teeth, a sudden urge to hurt something, anything taking over her mind. What the hell did he do to deserve this punishment? Save the world? Live the wrong life? Love the wrong girl? At that thought she feared her teeth might break of the pressure, so she loosened up as much as she could. And that wasn't much.  
  
She let her back fall against a big oak, slowly sliding down on it. Then she pulled her legs up and drew her knees close to her chest. Renamon appeared beside her.  
  
"Ruki, do you want to be left alone?" The girl shook her head and continued to stare at nothing.  
  
"I know this is hard for you, but be strong."  
  
"Well, it may be hard for me, but if I'm already that troubled, imagine how he must feel. He didn't do anything to deserve this, Renamon. He's a good boy."  
  
"I know he is, as does everyone else."  
  
"Well, I'm afraid I believe somebody up there doesn't think so."  
  
She stood up abruptly, a sudden wave of rage surging through her body.  
  
"Whatever or whoever you are, you bloody god bastard, just GO FUCK OFF!"  
  
"Ruki, calm down!"  
  
"But-"  
  
Before she could finish her objection, Renamon gripped her shoulders and pushed her down, gently but firmly. And Ruki gave in finally. She let herself slide down again and waited. But she was an impatient girl, so she couldn't last long. Soon, she stood up again and wandered to the cave.  
  
It was pretty dark compared to the bright sunny outside. Her eyes adjusted to the light after a moment, and she looked around her. No Cyberdramon, no Soulmon, but most importantly, no Ryo. She panicked. Where had they gone to? He wasn't dead, was he? Without a seconds thought, she stormed out again. And bumped into someone.  
  
"Hey, watch it Ruki, you're gonna kill me one time!" Her head shot up disbelievingly.  
  
"Ryo?! Oh, you idiot!"  
  
"Wow, thanks, nice to see you, too." He replied sarcastically, but his smile was honest. They both lifted off the ground again.  
  
"You scared the living hell out of me! I thought you were lost!"  
  
"Well, as you noticed, I'm not."  
  
"See, I know there'll be times when I wish you were, but let's leave it for a second. Stand still."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I plan to cling onto your chest in less than three seconds, and I don't wanna end up on the floor again."  
  
He grinned and opened his arms. The girl smiled happily and practically flew into them. She didn't dare look up since she knew her expression was a little too blissful for her own good. But for a moment she allowed herself to just be glad to have him. For a moment she didn't think about the consequences, or that she actually didn't need this, or that he was gonna go and hurt her once. She didn't think, she only felt. His warmth, his equal gladness to have her in his arms, his tight yet so soft embrace, his broad chest heaving and falling with every breath. And it was all she wanted.  
  
"Um, hey, guys, I don't want to ruin your emotional moment, but. could you listen for a second?"  
  
They separated a little too quickly, and if Renamon had been able to grin, she would have been forced to try to hide it.  
  
"You see, Soulmon had to go, but he told me that he can't feel Aradmon's energy anymore. That means she's most likely dead. So you two can return back to your world."  
  
"Okay. Then I suggest we pack."  
  
"Alright."  
  
The two humans went to search their stuff while Renamon turned back to Cyberdramon. After a moment she asked thoughtfully:  
  
"Don't you miss him sometimes?"  
  
"That's none of you business."  
  
"Come on, you won't get rid of me. Tell me. Yes or no."  
  
The digimon grunted. "Of course I miss him. He's my friend. But I know that this isn't his world, as his wasn't mine. So the only solution is visiting the other at times. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, you don't seem to have much of a relationship when you're Cyberdramon."  
  
"And you seem to have too much of a big nose for my sake."  
  
"Don't start that again. If I get on your nerves, just go." But just like the fox like digimon had expected, he just grumbled and stayed where he was.  
  
"Okay guys, we're done. Let's head to the hole. Will it take long to get there?"  
  
"No, just half an hour or such. But we will have to carry you."  
  
"No problem. Come on, let's go."  
  
"Why such a hurry?"  
  
The young man grinned at Ruki. "I'm hungry, and my father is the best cooker I ever met."  
  
She rolled her eyes and mounted Renamon's arms.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ruki did her best not to cry, but her lower lip had to suffer big time.  
  
"Bye, Renamon. We'll come back next summer, I promise."  
  
"Alright, we will await you."  
  
They hugged, then she turned to Ryo and Cyberdramon. They hadn't as much of a scene, but you could still see that it cost them a lot to say goodbye again.  
  
"Okay, I'm going now, and I'm not going to embrace you cause that would be embarrassing, don't you think?"  
  
The digimon nodded. "So, um. I'll be back soon, okay?"  
  
"Alright. We will meet again."  
  
"Sure we will. Bye buddy." He smiled and turned his attention to Ruki.  
  
"Come on, darling."  
  
"Shut up, bug." He smirked and pushed her gently to the hole.  
  
They worked their way through the tunnel. And when they crawled out the hole and into the park, everyone was there to welcome them. The whole crew, Juri and Takato holding hands, Jenrya smiling broadly at them, Kenta, Kazu and Suzy, suspiciously close to each other, Jenrya's dad, Ruki's mother and grandmother and Ryo's father. He looked like he was close to break down. And considering the circumstances, it was pretty sure he was. His son who had been dead for seven years stood before him and looked as alive as ever.  
  
"Um.hey, dad."  
  
"Oh my god. my boy!" The older man pulled the younger in his embrace, not letting go for a long time.  
  
"I've missed you so much... I'm so sorry about all the times I was a bad father. I love you."  
  
"I know dad. I love you, too."  
  
They let go, and soon the big welcoming was over. Everyone turned to go home, though promising they would meet soon. Ryo smiled at Ruki.  
  
Okay, boy, you will just stop seeing her as what you do now until she's ready to tell her feelings. It will only make it worse if you start urging her. Keep control of yourself. No emotions shown, no irrational acting, no expecting anything from her. Self control.  
  
"Well, see you soon, wildcat."  
  
"Yeah..." The young woman didn't know what to say.  
  
°Oh, well, you know, the past months were really cool, I thought I hated you, I thought I loved you, I wanted to kill you, I wanted to save you from death and my momentary state of mind is describable by nothing else but confused. See you.°  
  
That was ridiculous. She looked up to see if he was at an equal loss of words. But immediately, she was worried over him again.  
  
"What's wrong, Ryo?"  
  
He breathed quietly, but a lot too fast and his left hand was clutched tightly to his side. He looked down into her eyes, an almost unnoticeable frown forming on his features.  
  
"I don't know, it just hurts. But it's not that bad, you can go home."  
  
"What happened back in the cave when I wasn't there? What did Soulmon do to heal you?"  
  
"As far as I know, he did nothing. I just woke up and felt as if nothing of that had happened."  
  
"What did it feel like before you passed out? I know it hurt, you held onto my hip as if you wanted to crush it."  
  
"I... I don't know. It's like.a cold fire. Burning, but freezing... Oh, it's hard to explain."  
  
"Do you feel the same now?"  
  
"Not exactly..."  
  
She wanted to turn around again, but she heard him mutter under his breath:  
  
"It's just worse..."  
  
She grabbed him by the collar, unnerved because he didn't want her to know.  
  
"Come on, Akiyama, don't expect me to revive you and then turn away when you're close to dying again. Tell me. Since when do you feel it?"  
  
He pouted. "I won't."  
  
"Fine, then die, but I won't be there crying for you. Not again."  
  
He sighed. "Okay. It's there since... shortly after you kissed me, so I suppose it has to do with that venom I had in my blood. But it wasn't very intense. During the fight it became more present in my mind. It became more forceful every minute. And, you see, finally it was like an explosion, sudden and five times harder than before. And there I lost it, I think. The next thing I remember is Soulmon bending over me with a worried expression. After that, I didn't feel the pain anymore for quite some time, but now I can feel it come back again."  
  
"So. what do you think happened?"  
  
"I think that the venom, as said before, probably had some unpleasant effect on me. You weren't able to heal me completely, so I suspect it has to do with my being dead before. But that's just a wild guess."  
  
"I don't think it's that wild. It's an entirely unpleasant situation, but what's scaring me the most is that we have no clue what this 'unpleasant effect' is and what it will cause later on. Anyway, I think the best is if we just wait and see what happens. Until then, you will have to suffer, sorry."  
  
"Anything for you."  
  
He took hold of her arm and clung onto it like a little child. Ruki rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but laugh. He straightened up and grinned as well.  
  
°Now if only he meant it...°  
  
Now if only she knew I meant it...  
  
"Promise to call me whenever you think it will occur again, okay?"  
  
"Sure I will. Even at three in the morning?"  
  
"Yeah, even then."  
  
She gave him another small smile and, surprising them both, lifted her hand up to ruffle his already tousled hair and spoke in an uncharacteristically soft tone:  
  
"Take care."  
  
"I will."  
  
With that, she turned and went over to her mother's car. Ryo inhaled and closed his eyes, trying to convince his brain that processing that little moment of time couldn't be that hard of a work to do. He was constantly pained by something he didn't know a bit of, it was actually a lot worse than he wanted to tell Ruki, she was really worried over him, he was prepared to die once again and not come back and he didn't give a damn about any of this besides her smile and her gentle gesture, momentarily forgetting about the nagging pain in his stomach.  
  
Ooookay, so much for self control... He got into his father's car.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The group decided that they would go to the movies together, to catch up with the old times. They hadn't seen each other as often as they used to. After Ruki quit, they lost touch. And Ryo had definitely some catching to do... stories that had happened within his absence, and a certain girl's heart.  
  
Woah, slow down, you're starting it yet again. She's not ready. Maybe she'll never be. Just leave the topic and let her take the lead in case she even wants to.  
  
He sighed in exasperation. This was too difficult to be true. And still the disturbing, but by now familiar pain in his abdomen wouldn't go away whatever he tried. He opened his closet, randomly grabbing a shirt and some trousers. His father had bought him a whole mountain of new, fitting clothes. He seemed really happy to have his boy back. Ryo let the damp towel around his waist slide to the ground and pulled on a pair of boxers. He slid the black shirt over his head, careful not to touch his still wet hair, then slipped into his also black skater pants. He never thought he'd wear such things since he'd hardly ever seen a skateboard closely, but as he discovered they were quite comfortable. Fixing them on his hip with his belt, he picked up his money and ruffled through his hair for quite some time. It was the only care his hairstyle needed. His hair was so thick and stubborn that it stood in every direction anyway, so there was no use in trying something else. With that, he headed for the door.  
  
"Bye, dad, I'm leaving!"  
  
"Bye, boy, have fun! And be back at two, okay?"  
  
He rolled his eyes, though not really minding. "Alright dad!"  
  
And the next sound heard was that of a door slamming.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Hey, Ryo, over here!"  
  
Juri waved her hand like a mad chicken and Takato shook his head at her.  
  
"He saw you, stop acting like a fool." She stuck her tongue out.  
  
"If I embarrass you, I'm continuing. You deserve it."  
  
Ruki rolled her eyes as Ryo made his way to her.  
  
"What's up with them?"  
  
"Some lover's quarrel. I dunno, and I certainly don't care. Why do you?"  
  
"Because Juri's voice is hurting my ears if she keeps it that piercingly high."  
  
"Well, you will have to suffer through it. Speaking of which, how's your stomach?"  
  
"Empty."  
  
"That wasn't what I meant, goon. Hurting or not?"  
  
"Well, a little."  
  
"But it's okay, isn't it?"  
  
He smiled at her reassuringly and she turned. She forgot that he actually didn't answer her. Jenrya and Suzy arrived, Kazu right at their heels. Or rather, on her heels, following her every movement as if he were to start drooling every moment. Ruki made a disgusted face, but the younger girl seemed to like it. Kazu was really low a form of being. He had no self esteem. She looked the other way and saw herself confronted with the only being which she didn't know what to think or feel of. He smiled at her, in his usual, carefree, almost childish way. How cute. He was twenty-one and still managed to look like he was seven. She couldn't prevent her lips from curving upwards as well, and it wasn't like she really wanted to. Kenta stumbled in after the trio and they were complete, free to start the movie session.  
  
They went to watch the about thirteenth teen comedy for this year. It was amusing. Not something that blew off your socks, but oh well... Ruki turned her face to her friends. Without really realizing it, she was so glad to have them back, to joke around and act like they were still ten. Everyone else seemed to be enchanted by the movie. She mustered every face closely, noticing how much they had changed and how much they were still the same to her. Then she turned to see the most important one among them, at least to her. But she instantly grew worried again when she saw his frown. Knowing it to be caused by pain, she shot him an uncertain look.  
  
°Should I ask if he's okay? And when did I learn to guess the cause of his unease just by his way of frowning? And why won't he just speak up if it hurts, stupid pig head?°  
  
"Ryo?"  
  
Although her voice wasn't much above a whisper, his head shot to her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You okay?"  
  
Again this reassuring smile of his. How many times had she seen it in the past months? And how often did it turn out that she shouldn't have given up on the matter so quickly? No, not this time.  
  
She stood up, pulling him along. She startled him as well as the others and the cinema guests in the rows behind them, grumbling for them to sit back down again which Ryo was actually trying to. But Ruki would have none of this. She struggled her way through all the legs and bags and finally reached the hallway, a confused Ryo still trailing behind her. Then she spun angrily and put her hands on her hips.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So what?"  
  
"So why aren't you telling me that your stomach is hurting again?"  
  
He looked down. "Well, I didn't want to ruin your time and besides, what would the others think if the two of us just disappear together?"  
  
The rest of the crew didn't know of Ryo's pains, and he had a good point. What would they think? But at the moment she didn't care.  
  
"It doesn't matter. But hey, just to have this registered: You are rather suffering a perhaps deadly pain than interrupting me watching a movie?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The answer made the girl throw up her arms in frustration. "Man, you're stupid!"  
  
But her attention was instantly diverted back to him when a low gasp was heard. His eyes were closed and he held his side again.  
  
"I told you! Now come on, we'll go to the men's room to see what we can do."  
  
Obviously his mind wasn't clear enough to object as she pulled him behind her.  
  
As soon as she entered the room, she pushed him into one of the stalls and ordered him to sit down on the closed toilet. She took a couple of toilet paper pieces, wetting them and pressing them to his burning forehead. He was in a bad condition. And she didn't know what to do, not even where to start. His brows drew together even more, indicating the intense pain he must be feeling. He let his back just fall against the wall of the cabin, sliding down on it slowly and pulling his knees up to his chest. She locked the door, afraid someone might come in and think about what they were doing together at the men's room. Then she bent down next to him and asked softly:  
  
"Ryo, do you hear me?"  
  
He snorted, answering with a slightly pressed voice: "I'm just suffering a little bit of pain, I haven't gone nuts."  
  
"Really? If you haven't, then why are you calling this little? It almost hurts -me- seeing your immense pain."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Oh, shut up. What can we do?"  
  
His eyes still closed, he managed to give off a pretty weak imitation of his normal smile. "Don't think I would have a clue."  
  
She looked at him bewildered. He wasn't trying to find a solution at all, it seemed. Okay, then she would have to do the job. How often had he had this pain? Too often, but not often enough in her presence. And as he said, there was nothing known to him that prevented it or made it go away. He just waited until it was over. But Ruki knew, if she'd have to sit beside him the whole evening, looking at his tense figure and tightly gritted teeth, the picture of him dead again would drive her insane. She had to do something. Just -what-? She had no idea.  
  
Wait. He indeed -had- suffered a big pain around her. And she had helped heal it. And if these pains really resulted of the poison , then her... how did the little thing call it... body fluids would help him get better again a big deal.  
  
"Uh... Ryo?"  
  
"Hum?"  
  
"Ah... would you... would you mind if I kissed you again?"  
  
His eyes snapped open at an instant. "What did you just say?"  
  
She cast her eyes down, her cheeks burning. "If I kiss you, it's gonna fade away momentarily, as it did back in the digital world. Remember?"  
  
What a question. He may forget his name, his sexuality, his... everything, but not that moment... his memory of bliss.  
  
"Fairly well. So, you want do to it again?"  
  
She gulped. Well, of course she needed to do it again, but he was right. She also -wanted- to feel like that again. But she decided that she mustn't tell him this, so she just didn't respond.  
  
Instead, she stood up and set herself onto his lap, her back supported by his legs that were still pulled up, her arms steadying her against his tensed up torso. Her fingers grazed the line of his neck and she looked up to his eyes again.  
  
"Be well soon."  
  
And with that, their lips met again, startlingly passionate and needing. They both knew that the other had longed for this moment to happen just as much. Her hands slid up to the back of his head, gliding through his thick mass of hair. His hands went around her waist pulling her even closer and in consequence deepening the kiss. This was already enough to make Ryo forget about all pain he ever felt, but they didn't stop, couldn't stop, even if Ruki had been aware of the fact that his only feeling was intense pleasure now. She wouldn't have stopped as she felt just the same. Their lips parted slightly to invite the other in, and both took the offer quite willingly. Their tongues were dancing, curling around each other like two snakes. Neither of them even noticed how Ruki's hand crept up his hot skin underneath his shirt, her nails softly digging into his heated flesh. Feeling even better, Ryo couldn't stop a small growl erupting from his throat. That brought the reality back. They were sitting in a toilet, kissing someone they loved dearly but didn't dare admit and way too comfortable with it. Ruki looked into his eyes again.  
  
"Everything alright again?"  
  
He nodded and gave a small smile, a real one. "I'm fine, thanks to you."  
  
She lifted herself up again and pulled him along. "You're welcome. Come on, let's go search the others. I bet the movie's over."  
  
°And I see no chance I would switch seeing the end of it with being with you for the past half an hour.°  
  
Ah, wonderful, finally something to make my life livable again. Thank god that stupid thing got me back in that fight. You don't know how much of a favor you did me, dear.  
  
They headed out for their friends again, both heavily restraining themselves as to not have too many 'accidental' touches. And not too shortly after, they found them waiting in the entrance hall. Suzy and Kazu all over each other, Jenrya shooting them a suspicious and curious look, Juri daring him to say anything and smiling knowingly at Ruki, and Takato and Kenta once again having no clue of nothing.  
  
"So, uh... where'd you go?"  
  
Immediately, Juri transfixed her glare to her boyfriend, wordlessly warning him. And obviously, he knew that look, as he backed away slightly and shut his mouth tightly. And Ryo and Ruki were at a loss of words.  
  
'Oh, well, you know, Ryo has these pains that I fear he might drop dead because of every five minutes, and in the digiworld we discovered I can help those by kissing him. And well, that we did.'  
  
That sounded ridiculous. -Really-.  
  
"Well, I needed to ask him something about our stay at the digital world, and I didn't want to disturb the whole cinema by my whispering."  
  
"Oh, so it's better to disturb the whole cinema by leaving? That's clever, Ruki."  
  
Kazu snickered at his own joke, but one look from Ruki and another, even more forceful one from Juri were enough to shut him up the whole evening.  
  
"So, should we go get something to eat? How about a nice pizzeria? We could talk and get to know each other again, how about that?"  
  
Everyone nodded in approval and they headed out.  
  
As they sat and waited for their order, everyone spoke. Ruki and Ryo telling their stories of their excursion, the others talking about what had happened in the meantime. And they told the two of the past seven years, as both hadn't had any contact to them then. Well, Ryo obviously couldn't, and Ruki had been to busy destructing herself to care.  
  
Just when they had arrived on how Suzy and Kazu had come together, the pizzas arrived. Two pepperonis, two salamis, one avocado, two marguerites and one with mushrooms and ham.  
  
Absently, Ryo reached over to Ruki's plate and took one of her olives. Jenrya, still having that highly analytic mind of his, took notice of the action immediately.  
  
"Hey, what was that?"  
  
Juri's glance came too late. Ruki looked up and asked:  
  
"What was what?"  
  
"He took one of your olives and you didn't say anything. Back then, you would have bit his head off."  
  
The two looked at each other surprised.  
  
°Well, we are a -tiny- bit closer now, you know?°  
  
"Well. I guess we just became accustomed to sharing our food."  
  
"So you don't mind and he knows you don't mind?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"-Jenrya-."  
  
"Okay, sorry."  
  
Ryo's head was as red as Ruki's, if not more. He really hadn't even realized it. And as Jenrya continued watching them closely, he became witness of many other food exchanges, almost unknowingly done. It made them seem pretty close.  
  
They continued on like this almost a month. Meeting again, growing closer, getting an attack and kissing (well, two of them) and then acting all normal again.  
  
But as Ruki sat on her bed one night, just returned from another funny evening and another more or less voluntary snog, she decided she couldn't just let it go on. First because she feared more and more that it was something incurable and she couldn't just sit around and do nothing, second because Jenrya started to get suspicious and third because some sick, sadistic, mostly hidden part of her mind started to actually look forward to those moments.  
  
Okay, it was understandable that a girl wanted to kiss a guy and was eager to have some incident happen that inquired this, but. not if the guy had an inexplicable and absolutely painful throbbing in his stomach. It was logic that she wanted to ease his pain, but now she almost urged it to appear.  
  
That was sick. Really.  
  
So she decided she would go see Soulmon again, tomorrow. She wouldn't let this insaneness go on.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Around three days later, Ryo lay in his bed, just drifting off to sleep. Just as he was hugging his pillow to his chest, willing it with all his might to be Ruki, the phone rang. He groaned miserably and lifted himself off his warm and soft mattress.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Hey, Ryo? It's me. Ruki."  
  
Instantly, his mind was wide awake. Sure, they had come to the decision that HE could call HER at any time in the night, but if she called him... There had to be an emergency.  
  
"What's wrong, pumpkin? Missed me?"  
  
And just in time Ruki caught her tongue. She was dangerously close to saying: 'Of course I missed you.'  
  
"Well, um... We need to talk."  
  
"What, now?!"  
  
"Uh... no, I was just..."  
  
She was just what? She didn't know herself, but she had the excuse of having to process an not all so pleasant piece of information. She just wanted to talk to him, tell him... but she wouldn't do this on the phone. She just couldn't tell him. She knew if she told him, he would never be even half as devastated as she was, but still... she was hesitant. She would be all the way if they... went through with this.  
  
"Ruki? You still there?"  
  
"Yeah... I guess I just wanted to talk to you. Dunno. Hey, can we meet tomorrow? I've got something... important to tell you."  
  
Uh oh. Didn't sound good. What could she want to talk about...? He really didn't know, but by the way she was saying it it didn't please her. Just then he realized that they had gotten close. He could tell her mood by her voice now, despite how good she was able to keep any emotions from it. Oh, she wouldn't like this if she knew. Not at all...  
  
"Ryo? Are you sleeping?"  
  
"What? Oh, no, sorry. I was just thinking."  
  
"Frightening." She smiled when she could almost hear him stick out his tongue at her.  
  
"Haha. You can't believe just how much I love your sarcasm at three a.m."  
  
"Ah, don't take me serious, big boy. You know I was just kidding." He could hear her amusement beneath that all too well known mask of annoyance.  
  
"So... tomorrow at noon? At that pizzeria we went to last time?"  
  
"Alright. See you. And sweet dreams."  
  
She put the receiver down before he could reply. But oh yes, he was going to have sweet dreams... and he knew exactly what they'd be about. Sighing contently, he slid back under his covers and settled for a relaxing slumber.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ruki felt her stomach clenching lightly as she grew angrier at herself. Oh, please! The imagination alone was pathetic! She, Makino Ruki, one of the world's saviours, was close to rearranging the items on the table just to calm her nerves! And all this just because of one guy. A very special guy. To the world's safety as well as to her.  
  
°GAH, NOT THIS AGAIN! Bad Girl! Don't think that! Think about...°  
  
But whatever she could think of, her sadistic mind always made an automatic connection to him. She was close to throwing her arms up in frustration when she saw him enter. Instantly, she was nervous again. After all, this WAS pretty... uh, piquant. He spotted her and approached her table.  
  
"Hey pumpkin! What's up?" °You.°  
  
"Uh, well... we have a serious problem. It's about that constant aching in you abdomen."  
  
He playfully raised his eyebrow at her. "We?"  
  
"Well, seeing as I'm the one that permanently has her tongue down your throat, YES, we."  
  
"Woah, no need to go all bitchy on me. Calm down. What was it that got you so upset anyway?"  
  
°Oh, believe me, you will get upset, too.°  
  
"Sorry, it's just... everything's so complicated and all..." She set her head down on the table, lying on her crossed arms.  
  
"I don't really know how to start... see, I was worrying about you." (A/N: Insert hidden but happy grin of Ryo HERE.)  
  
"And... I went to Soulmon to ask if he achieved any new information. Well, he did." She looked up to meet his eyes, but he couldn't make anything out save her so obvious nervousness.  
  
"You remember this fluid thing, huh?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
As one of the most important factors of my current state of mind and body, how could I forget?  
  
"Well, he said he found something... something similar happened already more than a thousand years back. But if I recall correctly, it was about the woman. And well... Soulmon said he found a... cure. And we... uh, I play a very important role in it."  
  
As you do in everything that comes even close to having to do with my life.  
  
She shifted and fidgeted under his gaze, obviously very uneasy and not finding the right words. He grew worried. What about her? What would she have to accomplish that made her such an edgy wreck? He had never seen her like this, it was as much out of character as the sudden confession of her love for Frogmon would be.  
  
"Don't you want something to eat?"  
  
"No! Uh, no not right now, thanks though."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
He knew pretty well that he was almost frowning at her odd behaviour. And he knew just as well that she didn't even notice because she was so busy with her nails all of a sudden.  
  
"Come on, spill it, Ruki!" She glanced up in surprise. He sounded agitated. And worried. Shit. She cast her gaze back down quickly.  
  
"It's just... kinda tough for me, you know..."  
  
She went on with her nervous staring at nothing until Ryo snapped.  
  
"Oh, come on! I can't sit around and watch you act like you were... Oprah Winfrey! Tell me what the little idiot said!"  
  
She gulped. Then she lifted herself off and stood, making him rise as well. She directed her gaze into his sky blue orbs, once again amazed by their intense colour. She prepared for her escape as she said:  
  
"Well... Soulmon said there's only one way out and even that one isn't completely safe." She inhaled deeply again. "We'd have to sleep with eachother."  
  
And with that said, she almost fled the store, leaving an absolutely dumbfound Ryo to stare at her fast retreating back.  
  
  
  
A/N: Look, a cliffhanger! Ah, doesn't matter, nobody reads this story anyway. As for those who did, maybe you liked it. And if you did, there'd be nothing standing between you and the lovely little blue button 'Submit Review' over there on the left. 


	7. Where do we go from here?

Disclaimer: Yeah, these Japanese meanies stole MY concept! Four times! Suuuuure, folks.  
Well, now he sure understood why she was so nervous. That was one hell of an information. He sat down again in a desperate attempt to process all this. Sure, it was kind of hard for him to get all this. All the interacting, all the secrets they discovered, all the closeness and tension that so suddenly came up between them. But you had to see, he had known since seven years exactly what kind of feelings he had for her.  
  
For her it was so much harder... she was practically forced to kiss him, and he still didn't know her exact reaction. Of course, outside she reacted just like every normal teen did. She had hormones and needs, and her body wanted them to be satisfied.  
  
But he really had no clue if she got any emotional pleasure out of it. And he felt himself wanting her to more every passing day, because he sure as hell did. And he couldn't help thinking that if she did not, he was abusing her. Sure, as said before she did it all more or less willingly, but he often assumed that she did it only to save her friend, and a heavy emphasis on the word friend, and help him live as long as possible. It was completely unclear if she would have chosen to act like this if she didn't have to, or if she would still act like this if she wasn't anymore. And every time this thoughts invaded his mind, he realized with a short but destructive pang that his heart sure not believed what he tried talking himself into believing. And the only conclusion he could draw out of this was that if she didn't love him, he would never want her to sleep with him. As much as his body and heart ached for it, his mind and heart would never take one of the most precious gifts a young woman could give just out of pity or friendship. It was too precious to be wasted. SHE was too precious.  
  
He sighed deeply, just now realizing how much his honesty and his measures of value destructively and effectively worked against himself.  
She was so confused.  
  
The only clear thought Ruki could make out in her mind right now was that she practically had none. Sure, she had feelings for Ryo. And they were far from nothing. But she recalled fearing for the lives of all her friends, also the male ones. And they were nothing but friends. And they knew they were. But Ruki had the indefinite and inexplicable idea that Ryo wanted to be more than that, that he wanted her to be in his life not as a makeshift to keep him from going down but as his... love.  
  
The thought made Ruki shudder.  
  
Ryo was a wonderful man, kind, soft and caring, but if she really gave him access to her heart and mind, he would carry one of the most destructive weapons against her sanity with him. She had made the mistake of loving someone only once. And that someone had carelessly left her behind, leaving her soul to deal with the wounds itself. She knew she was hypersensitive and overcautious, that Ryo was probably the last person that ever wanted to hurt her. But if she really opened herself to him, she would be vulnerable. Something completely normal, but she hated the thought.  
  
Having been in battle for so long, both against outside enemies and her own self, she detested even thinking of it. She also knew that it was selfish not to care about his feelings, but she was sure if she told him she loved him even though she did not, he would never forgive her.  
  
That was basically the problem's location. She didn't KNOW if she loved him or not. And if she tried to find out, she would most likely be hurt.  
  
Hugging her legs tightly to her chest, she tried desperately to find something else to think about. And found it very frightening that she could not seem to do so.  
It took several days to get the minds of certain people fixed. Ryo decided he would just wait and let Ruki do the first move, and Ruki decided to just get his healing over with, and afterwards race back into her hard, thick shell.  
  
And so she found herself on the doorstep of his newly rented apartment in the middle of the evening. She had had to leave her room through the window to not wake her mother up. Her arm was so much heavier than it used to be... she needed several attempts to get it high enough to reach the door bell.  
  
Inhaling deeply, she told herself that it was too late to turn and run. She would go through with it. She pushed the small button and a few moments later, the door swung open, revealing a totally sleepy and half-naked Ryo.  
  
"Wha- Oh, shit, sorry, Ruki, I'm gonna go put something on."  
  
The sight of him just in his black drawstring pants seemed to encourage her wavering mind, so she didn't respond. She simply walked in and grabbed him before he could leave the room. He turned to her with a confused expression.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
She licked her lips in a nervous gesture and walked up to him. A suspicious frown marring his handsome features, he stared down at her. And it was obvious that he didn't expect her to lift on her toes and place a kiss on his mouth, so he stumbled back, the frown turning into a look of intense shock.  
  
"Wait, what are you-"  
  
But his reply was abruptly cut off by her almost aggressive kiss. And even though every part of his mind screamed at him to stop, he found himself kissing back just as aggressive, not really realizing what happened, what she was doing to him. As their kisses grew even more intense, Ruki backed into the wall for support and mentally braced herself for the oncoming events. Then her hands went from his neck to the waistband of his pants, tucking at them with a hesitance that totally contradicted her other actions.  
  
Which was what snapped the young man back to reality, made him realize that she didn't really want to do this. He pushed her hands of and took a step back. While he was trying to compose his breathing and himself, he brought as much distance between him and his love as possible.  
  
"Just a moment here, okay? I know what you're trying to get us into."  
  
And you have no idea how much I want to comply.  
  
"But I have one important question. If we both are comfortable with your answer, go ahead and do to me whatever you want."  
  
She found herself squirming under his scrutinizing gaze because she knew his question. But she realized she didn't know her answer as she felt the by now almost familiar sting in her eyes.  
  
°Look what he does to me! Ice queen Ruki gets all teary! Why is it that my composure is always at a minimum around him?°  
  
That exactly was what she had wanted to avoid; this question would ruin everything.  
  
"Do you love me?"  
  
She failed to choke back her sob and Ryo could see the small trails on her cheeks glow in the moonlight from his window. Why did she have to be so damn beautiful, even when she was crying?  
  
"I...I..."  
  
He sighed to get the damn stinging in his heart to stop. Of course. Why had he even bothered?  
  
"Alright, that's enough of an answer."  
  
He walked over to the door, opened it and said quietly, but firmly:  
  
"Out."  
  
Their eyes locked for a brief moment and Ruki knew that pleading wouldn't help. She didn't understand this. Didn't he want her? Didn't he... love her? Why was it so important to him that she loved him back? And why did her whole damn chest ache so much?  
  
She gritted her teeth and looked at him, feeling a thick wall of anger building up inside of her.  
  
"You want me to go? Fine, just don't expect me to be there for you when you need my help again!"  
  
And she spun on her heel and stormed out, almost tripping down the stairs. She ran and ran and ran, until she miraculously arrived in front of her house. And as she flopped down on her bed, all anger fled her mind and all that was left was sadness. Bitter, regretful sadness. She had never cried so much in one night.  
An annoying peeping sound slammed into her mind, awaking her with a start. Damn phone! She wasn't in the mood to talk right now. And even less if this was Mr. Legendary Tamer. She flipped her pillow over her head, but the ringing wouldn't stop. Furious, she picked up the receiver.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Ruki? It's Jen. I've been trying to get you the past hour. Listen, you have to come to the hospital right now."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
She felt her stomach clench tightly as the boy spoke again.  
  
"It's Ryo. He broke down last night and nobody knows why. His neighbour found him lying on the floor this morning, his door was wide open."  
  
She gasped. That meant it had happened right after she left. She almost started crying again. She should have stayed, should have helped him! And then, another, way more painful thought hit her. What if it was HER fault? What if he had had a breakdown because of her?  
  
"Where is he?" Her voice was merely a high pitched whisper.  
  
"At Shinjuku Hospital. He's in some sort of coma right now. Do you want to come and see him?"  
  
But all his last sentence reached was a dead line, since Ruki had already slammed her end down and quickly got dressed.  
Juri sat next to Ryo, talking to him and hoping for some sign. He wasn't completely comatose, he tossed and turned sometimes, but whatever they tried, he wouldn't wake up. He was even hallucinating at times, so they had agreed to take several shifts watching over him.  
  
The door burst open to reveal Ruki, looking like she had had a really though night. Her hair was dishevelled and her eyes were red and puff and had bags underneath. She looked around, saw him and flopped down on a chair, obviously trying hard to keep the tears at bay. It took her almost a minute to realize that Juri was right next to her, looking at her with concern and worry. She instantly wiped her eyes and managed something that held a weak resemblance to her usual, stoic expression. But the other girl just looked at her, warmth and understanding in her bright brown eyes.  
  
"I know."  
  
The statement floated in the air, as vague as the clouds passing over the blue sky as Ruki pondered what she'd meant.  
  
Blue... his eyes were blue...and clouded when he was thinking. It looked so cute and it resembled nothing like the picture laid before her right now. He looked so pale, so pained, so...lifeless. There was no sign of the energy that usually radiated from him. She felt herself being transported seven years back. He had looked like this.  
  
°Oh no, please! Whoever you are, I'm so sorry I yelled at you back there, please don't take him away from me!°  
  
"Juri...could you leave? Just a few minutes?" The redhead sounded just as weak and guilty as she felt.  
  
"Sure. Take care of him." Juri touched her arm lightly and smiled at her.  
  
°Oh, I try to, you don't know how much I try to. But I feel myself being torn between loving him and fearing him, and all I do is hurt him.°  
  
The brown haired girl left the room and Ruki turned to Ryo's unnaturally pale complexion again. There was nothing indicating that he was alive, just the beeping sound of the machine registering his heartbeat, unsteady and too fast, and his frown. She pulled a chair up to his bedside and took a breath.  
  
"Okay, I don't know if you hear me, so I'm just gonna babble and humiliate myself as much as I deserve to. Alright, do you know what was the first thing I thought of? After Soulmon told me what we, what *I* had to do? I thought: No, I can't let him, he's already too close. I didn't think, no, I don't want to or he's not right for me. All I thought was that you'd have too much power over me, that you already *had* too much. I didn't want anyone to be able to touch me like you do, I never did. See what I mean? Just look at me. Would I sit next to anyone else, talking about my *feelings*? I don't think so. And there's times I really want to rip your throat for making me unable to analyse my own mind. God, I'm so confused. That's why I didn't say I loved you. I simply don't know, and I didn't want to lie. Sometimes I think I love you for self explanatory reasons. Sometimes I think I hate you, for making me so confused and vulnerable. Sometimes I think I'm scared of you for having such access to my heart and mind, for having more power over me than I myself do. And in times like these I just don't have no clue. But hell, I sure know that you're the only thing in this universe that comes even close to provoke such feelings in me. And most of the time I like them. The feelings I mean. So... I think you should wake up and then we just try it. I mean I don't know what this love thing is all about, but I... I really hope I'll let you show me."  
  
She looked down at him, but he showed no reaction. She lifted her hand and absently traced her fingers along his square jaw.  
  
"You know, this is the part of the movie where you miraculously wake up and we confess our love for each other, then we kiss and go home. Your insertion?"  
  
But there was no movement in his pale features, no eye fluttering à la 'Oh, her speech is over and I'm all healed again!'. She gulped as her eyes started burning again. Being quite helpless, she bent down and kissed him in a desperate attempt to make him wake up. But seemingly with her dismissal last night, her fluids had lost their powers. Or he simply didn't want her to wake him. She closed her eyes to keep the forming droplets from falling and laid her head down on his chest.  
  
She stayed like this for a while until she realized that it was almost... quiet. Her eyes flew wide open as her head shot up, eyeing the machine that measured his heartbeat. She had almost adjusted to the constant beeping but now she realized that it had grown faint. It was still there, but it was faint and it came slower. She jolted up and reached for the bell thing to alarm the nurses. A few moments later one came rushing in and asked what was wrong.  
  
"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?! He's dying, that's wrong! Now do something!"  
  
The nurse checked him furiously, trying to find the problem while Ruki began the trapped tiger pacing thing. Some moments later the others ran in and looked at her.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"How would I know, goddammit?!"  
  
Kazu gave her a bewildered face.  
  
"Why are you so worked up, girl? You didn't even talk to him most of your life!"  
  
But before Ruki could yell at him, Suzie fixed him with a stern, warning glare.  
  
"Just shut up, Kazu. Believe me, you don't understand this."  
  
He looked offended, but shut his mouth. Juri stepped up to the other girl.  
  
"Come on, Ruki, stop. You aren't helping him by yelling at you friends."  
  
The young woman looked at her, nodded and mumbled a "Sorry", but kept pacing. Until Juri couldn't watch her anymore and gently pushed her down onto one of the chairs.  
  
"Stop it now, Ruki. Listen, the machine's beeping normally again. He's gonna be okay."  
  
Ruki's eyes watered again.  
  
"Hell, no, he isn't. He's had these stomach achings for quite some time now, after some damn arrow hit him. But we can't help it anymore. We-"  
  
"Anymore? What did you do before?"  
  
She gave off the perfect 'dear in headlights' look, then answered hesitantly:  
  
"We... we kissed."  
  
"You WHAT?!"  
  
"Shut up, Takato!"  
  
"So, every time his stomach hurt, you kissed, and it was fine again? Like... back in the cinema?" Again a nod. Jenrya frowned in thought. How was this possible?  
  
Ruki looked over to the bed again. Everything was alright again, considering the circumstances of course. She stood up, walked over and on its own her hand settled on his cheek again. She sniffed quietly and gave him a small kiss. Then she turned to her friends.  
  
"I... I can't stay here. Not when he's so... so not him. I gotta go." She wiped the back of her hand over her eyes and exited the room in a hurry.  
  
Takato sighed.  
  
"Man, that girl's had it. She's in love with him. Really, badly, Hollywood- like in love with him."  
  
While Kazu still showed a blank face like he had since the kiss confession, the others turned to stare at him incredulously.  
  
"What?! I'm dumb, okay, but I'm not *that* dense. Kazu obviously is, though."  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Come on, darling, you know he's right."  
  
Kazu pouted.  
  
"That is SO not true!"  
  
But the grins showed him that his friends all thought otherwise.  
Ruki found herself brought back to the state she'd been in when Ryo died. She rarely ate or talked, just kept to herself and her guilt. What had she done? It was her fault all over again. She'd maddened him. She'd hurt him. If he died, it was her fault again. And this time, it'd really be her death, too. He was a part of her, she couldn't lose him. She knew she couldn't go on without him. But she also knew she didn't want to die. What she wanted was that he would be okay again, so they could try and love each other like they wanted to. But it didn't look good.  
  
She'd been in the hospital a couple of times, and he was like dead, but breathing. And every time she had promised herself not to go there anymore because she couldn't stand the sight of him looking like a living corpse. And yet she found herself preparing for another of her visits on a cloudy morning.  
  
She entered the station and gave the nurse a slight nod. The woman already knew her and her friends. She seemed to try to say something, but Ruki just continued on, really not in the mood to talk.  
  
She opened the door and stepped in, quietly closing it again. But when she looked at the bed, her only thought was to open the window and jump.  
  
He wasn't there.  
  
His bed was neatly made and there was no sign of anyone sleeping in it. As much as her rational mind tried to make her believe that maybe he had just been transferred to another bed, but all she could register was that he was gone. He was gone.  
  
She slid down the wall and started crying. NO! This couldn't be true! But her inner voice was like a broken record, only repeating one word over and over: murderer. She was a murderer. She had killed someone twice, not to mention he was the most important person in her life. She didn't even realize the door opened until she saw the nurse bending down over her, concern etched across her features.  
  
"Oh, what's wrong, sweetie?"  
  
She couldn't manage to choke back her sobs to bring out a proper sentence, so she just pointed to the empty bed.  
  
She didn't catch the apologetic smile the older woman gave her, but she heard her words:  
  
"Oh, don't cry, sweetie! He's fine. He left yesterday. Didn't they tell you?"  
  
Her head snapped up and the crying died down instantly. She shook her head.  
  
"He's your boyfriend, huh?"  
  
Ruki frowned. He wanted to be, she *sometimes* wanted him to be, but *was* he her boyfriend?  
  
"More or less." The nurse chuckled.  
  
"Go get him, darling."  
  
Ruki wiped her eyes and stood up.  
  
"Alright. Thanks."  
  
"Don't mention it, sweetie." She nodded and left with a smile, but as soon as she had exited the building, her expression submerged to one of intense anger.  
Ryo sat in his armchair and stared at a photo. It was of him and Ruki, they'd taken it some time ago when the crew had gone ice skating. Ruki had a flushed face and she seemed pretty happy, her eyes twinkling and her smile wide. He sighed deeply and frowned.  
  
He'd struggled with himself the whole time since he'd left the hospital. His first reaction was to get into his car and drive to Ruki, but he realized that they hadn't really parted on friendly terms. And so he had turned and headed for his home instead. Now, to visit her or not to visit her, that was the question.  
  
The doorbell pulled him from his thoughts. He stood up and went to the funny little answering thing.  
  
"Hello, what can I-"  
  
"OPEN THE DOOR, DAMN BASTARD!!"  
  
Oh, it was Ruki. He gulped as the guilt surged through him. She'd been worried and he had left her hanging. Bad boy.  
  
He swung the door open and she stalked right in without giving him as much as an acknowledging gaze.  
  
"Uh... hey, Ruki. What's up?"  
  
She whipped around and fixed him with a very angry glare.  
  
"WHAT'S UP?! I tell you what's up! I was close to jumping out of that damn hospital window, THAT'S up!"  
  
Ouch. Yep, *really* bad boy.  
  
"Sorry! Really, I wanted to-"  
  
"I don't care! For once and for all I'm telling you: Don't you dare get your ass into my view again, am I making myself clear?"  
  
"But, Ruki, please-"  
  
"No, Ruki's just gonna open this door and storm out of your pathetic life, alright?"  
  
He felt his own temper rising at her heated words and couldn't help yelling:  
  
"AGAIN?"  
  
Her expression went from angry to hurt at once.  
  
Once again: ouch.  
  
"YOU were the one who rejected ME, remember?!"  
  
"Because you don't love me! Do you realize what you would have wasted?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, Master Of All Knowledge, I'm afraid I do NOT!"  
  
"Your virginity! That's something special, dumb ass!"  
  
She looked like she'd start crying every second.  
  
Oh, god, please don't make her cry. I can't take her crying.  
  
"And I was willing to give it to YOU! You hear me? WILLING!"  
  
"No, you were not! You accepted it as the only solution!"  
  
"Oh, don't make me hit you with this chair, damn ass!"  
  
"Oh, come on, Ruki! I don't want your pity, I don't want you smart ass comments, I don't want your 'Oh, I care for you, but I'm sooo scared' act! I really don't want one piece of them!"  
  
"So? I remember a time where you very willingly accepted my 'pity'! And alright, let's say I believe for one second. If you don't want my pity and you don't want my 'smart ass comments' which I personally like to call *concern*, you don't want my 'acting', called *current feelings*, then what the hell DO you want?"  
  
She sniffed but held her tears in control, forcing her damn body to obey to her mind at least *once* when he was around.  
  
His first reflex was of course to tell her the truth, that he wanted *her*. But figured that this wasn't quite the right time to confess his love. First he had to make her see him as human again.  
  
"Please, Ruki, I just didn't want you to hate me once you realized what we- what *I* had done. I did it for you?"  
  
"And what in HELL makes you think you can make my decisions?! *I* decide what I do, are we clear?"  
  
"Yeah, I know, I just didn't want to sleep with you like-"  
  
Her tears became more and more persistent and she felt her chest sting like only he could bring it to.  
  
"See, that's all I wanted to hear! You didn't want to! You could have just confessed it!" She turned for the doorknob.  
  
"No!"  
  
She felt his right arm reach over her shoulder and slam the door closed again. He stood directly behind her, and Ruki found herself dangerously close to leaning into him. But there was no need to. His arms wrapped around her and her struggle was revived again. She turned in his arms and faced him with angry frown. Her small fists connected with his chest at an incredible speed, but she didn't realize that she did no harm as she cried out:  
  
"Let me GO!"  
  
His expression came to be almost as angry as hers as he yelled back:  
  
"In HELL I will!"  
  
"Really?! I can TAKE YOU THERE IF YOU WANT!"  
  
She struggled more violently, completely ignoring that she was fighting a losing battle.  
  
"RUKI! Calm DOWN!"  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
"You'll hurt yourself!"  
  
"Don't give me that shit, as if YOU cared!"  
  
He caught her fists and held them above her head as he pinned her to the door.  
  
"I DO care, goddammit! I-"  
  
His expression softened considerably and she looked up into his eyes. God, she was so beautiful, frowning deeply and glaring daggers at him with her wet eyes. His voice was a hoarse whisper, almost hoping she couldn't hear it and reject him:  
  
"I love you."  
  
There, he'd said it. Now he was hers. If she wanted him that is.  
  
Her eyes went wide and she pressed her mouth shut to avoid the sob threatening to emerge, but her tears fell nonetheless. Her voice was quiet and unnaturally high as she asked:  
  
"You do?"  
  
He just gave her a nod, unable to repeat them. Not if he wasn't sure what she felt. She sniffed.  
  
"God, Ryo. I don't know if I love you."  
  
Ah, yes, there they were again. He was getting chest aches a lot more often than stomach aches these times. And all because of her. He nodded, not realizing his hurt expression.  
  
"It's okay, I understand." He was about to release her when she wrapped her arms around his neck and responded with a teary, desperate voice:  
  
"No, you don't. I could tell you if I loved you if I knew what love *is* in the first place! How would I know, I never experienced it and I have always tried not to think about it. But honestly, if what I feel for you *isn't* love, then what is?"  
  
His thumb was acting on its own again, wiping the tears off her cheek as she talked on.  
  
"I feel for you. Very strongly. That's all I can tell you for now I'm afraid."  
  
He smiled.  
  
"But it's enough."  
  
"Hey, this is the part of the movie where we're supposed to kiss, huh? After the confession?"  
  
She smiled, nodded and stood on her toes as he bent down. Sure, they had done this many times, but with the knowledge of the other's love, as cliché as it may sound, the kiss tasted so much sweeter, so much more real. It wasn't stolen anymore, it was out of free will. It was their first kiss as lovers, not friends, and it felt so good.  
A/N: Yep, that's it for now. Don't worry, there's still one or two chappies, but it *will* end soon. Wah. I kinda like writing this (again), but I think everything should have its proper end. Well, but again I say, left, review, SUBMIT! I'll be haaappy, really. 


	8. Lacking Title, Lacking Plot, But Not Flu...

A/N: Alright, dunno what possessed me on this one. I just had the urge to produce a little bit of fluff and I hope it pleases. Isn't all that important to the last couple of chapters (two more probably) and was written out of a good mood. Oh, and look: Five days! My personal record!

Disclaimer: Yeah, sure I own this, and a  mansion in France, and a Mini Cooper, and Draco Malfoy, and Winnie the Pooh, and... You get the idea, don'tcha? 

Damn, what _was_ this? As soon as she woke up, Ruki had the urge to smile. Not grin nor smirk, just a perfectly happy smile. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, but she turned on the mattress.

Or rather tried to. 

A strong arm, snaked possessively around her waist, was holding her back, and instantly she wanted to smile again. Man, this was _not_ good. She actually behaved like a girl. Worse, she behaved like a girl in one of those silly thirteen-year-old romance novels! She woke up and she was happy, her world in perfect peace. That was ridiculously unrealistic! 

With soft force, she finally managed to turn around to face him. 

Him. So kind an d caring, so gentle with her. so mature, and yet so child-like at times. Like now. He was sleeping and looking as if he felt just as good as she. His peaceful expression made her see him not as a young adult, but as the boy she'd fallen in love with. Naïve and cute, giving anyone looking in his direction a flawless smile. That was him entirely, even with twenty-one. Just a little more... attractive. 

She felt the smile creep up again when she tried to lift from the soft covers, receiving an unwilling growl from Sleeping Beauty. She laid back down and kissed his forehead, her smile turning into a grin when he groaned, obviously just now realizing that the sun was no good to sleepy eyes. When he finally felt recovered enough to face her, his lips were turned into a lazy smile.

"Morning." 

"Hi." 

"I can't really make conversation in the morning, so... how about a kiss?" 

She grinned again and thought that soon, her facial muscles would begin to ache from all the happy face making. But she couldn't imagine a way she could like sore muscles better. Just to tease him, she leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. 

"There, happy now?"

He gave another remonstrative growl as he pulled her closer.

"Not quite. Mind if I continue?" 

"Not in the-"

"Great."

And at once, she felt their lips crush again. She managed to get on top of him, straddling his waist without ever breaking their kiss. But eventually, the need for oxygen became frustratingly apparent. She collapsed onto his firm chest and his hand went to unconsciously draw slow circles across her back. 

"God, I've never felt so... _girlish_ before."

He lifted a mocking eyebrow.

"What did you feel like before? Masculine?" 

"No, moron. I felt... more or less genderless. I wasn't attracted to anyone. But now...all I can think about is you and to find a way to get those damn butterflies in my stomach to stop flipping. I read one or two of those romance novels and I always thought it was childish and silly. 'His kiss took her breath away, she melted against his touch, she awoke in complete happiness because he was with her', bla bla. Those were the most ridiculous words I could think of to describe a girl's feelings around a guy, or rather, my feelings around you. I felt nervous, attracted and enticed, yes, but the majority was nervousness. That I would do something wrong, that you wouldn't want me, that you'd hurt me. Do you believe that I was scared of you? Just because you're the only person I could imagine to fall in love with?"

His voice, albeit quiet, sounded contradictive and almost hurt. 

"You know exactly that I would never willingly hurt you!"

She smiled lightly and smoothed the lines on his forehead with a gentle kiss.

"Of course I do. I knew it then, too. But we're not talking about the rational mind of a seventeen-year-old woman, we're talking about the remains of a small, extremely hurt girl still inside of me. I could contradict myself as long as I wanted, there was always this torturing little voice, telling me how easily you could hurt me and how I couldn't really tell if you cared enough not to. I _wanted_ to let you in, all this time I really did. But I couldn't seem to think of it as a woman that could and wanted to be loved, I thought like a seven-year-old child that had sworn to herself that she would never again enable someone to hurt her, no matter what the cost. And I want you to understand what it means that I finally could let you in, as the first person in years. And I want to remind you that if you ever forget that and decide to go try and break me for whatever reasons, there'll be a _serious_ threat to the keeping of your manhood. Am I understood?" 

He chuckled softly and brushed her hand across his lips, reactivating this damn smiling urge. 

"Sir, yes, sir!" 

"Ah, shut up."

"Make m-"

His teasing comment was abruptly cut off by her lips clashing hungrily with his again. But just as abruptly, she pulled away again and he could see a smirk tugging at her soft lips.

"Better?" 

He just growled and flipped her over, leaving her underneath him and giggling like mad. 

His mind went from passion and desire to love again while he wondered how long it was ago that he had seen her being so carefree, so... _unguarded_. This was actually the first time she had ever let her guard down to him, not caring about appearance or keeping her heart wall up. And he felt his own lips lift into a bright smile when he finally could tell himself that this was all his earnings, that he made her happy. His life had gone from bad to good in a matter of hours, and now he simply loved it. 

He placed a caring and gentle kiss onto the side of her throat while flipping the both of them onto their sides again. Another giggle erupted from her chest when he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath to savour her scent. This was so... unexpected. 

Ruki had imagined her life countless times, but never had something like this been involved. Something that left her feeling wanted and loved and actually happy. She'd always thought she'd die miserably and alone after having spent her whole life lonely and cold of emotions. Well, maybe she _would_ die miserably and alone, but she'd have these wonderful memories of him, of them together. 

And to think, she had these thoughts after only one night spent in the same bed! Another romance story cliché. Not that it bothered her in the least. 

She snuggled closer and into his chest, enjoying the feel and warmth of him. And she knew now that she wanted to bask in that warmth for all her life. 

"Ryo?" 

"Huh?" His voice was muffled and low, and she suppressed another contented giggle. Wow, she was in girl mode today! She couldn't remember a single day in her life when she'd giggled as much, and the day was barely ten minutes old. 

"You'll stay with me, won't you? You're not gonna leave?" It came out much weaker than she thought it would, low and almost begging. 

"Gods, no. You'd have to shoot me, pet." 

"Didn't I order you once to _not_ give me any nicknames?"

"You did, but did I ever take your orders?"

He felt her chest vibrating against his with mirth as another chuckle escaped her. He felt her pulse where his face was in contact with the bare skin of her neck. He felt her nestle against him with a happy sigh. 

That was all he needed and would ever need. To _feel_ her. To be with her. To just have her complete his mind and soul the way she always did. yeah, that was all he needed. If he needed anything, it wasn't food, it wasn't water, it wasn't money or possessions. 

It was Makino Ruki. And her love for him, now having become as obvious to him as his was to her. 

He never wanted to leave his bed, never wanted to remove his arms around her. All his thoughts were focused on her.

Until he felt it again.

Ruki was startled when she felt his grip on her tighten and heard his sharp intake of breath. But in an instant, she knew what was wrong. She sat up, pulling the young man with her. on his face, she found all the evidence she needed. His features had contorted into a mask of intense pain, a picture she knew perfectly well. His pain was back.

His breath came in short, raspy gasps and his arms had immediately gone from her waist to his stomach, clutching it as if trying to squeeze the pain out.

"Come on, baby, it's gonna be okay." She pulled him into her embrace and soothed him by gently running her fingers through his thick mass of hair. She had to wait for the ache to subside a little before she could actually do something. 

His firm arms curled around her midriff again, holding onto her as if for dear life. 

"Shhhh… it's gonna be okay, I promise."

"Don't promise something you can't keep true, and now I'd rather have you kiss me if you please."

His voice was still harsh and his breath short, but at least he could produce a sensible sentence. 

"Alright. Now lift your head off my belly so I can actually reach you if you please." She said, her tone slightly mocking.

"Stop pulling that shit on my right now, okay?" 

His tone was a low and almost dangerous growl, and she felt the smirk appear on her lips. 

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up to face her. Again the contact of lips was more out of hunger than of their love for each other, their tongues fighting to dominate the other. Ryo was oddly aggressive while kissing her as a cure, and she had taken an equally odd liking to it. But while the kiss was proceeding, his movements grew softer, signalising that the pain was wearing off. Still they didn't stop. There was no need to anymore. They could kiss as much as they wanted to from now on. 

And with that pleasant thought in both their minds, the couple drifted off into a comfortable slumber.

Much later, Ruki awoke again, her eyes meeting the alarm clock that said 11:39 a.m. and her nose the delicious smell of fried eggs and ham. She rubbed her eyes, a smile taking over her features again, and lifted herself off the bed. 

When she entered the kitchen, her boyfriend stood with his bare back to her, clothed only in his black drawstring pants and obviously preparing breakfast. _Boyfriend_... That had really nice ring to it... And seeing him handle with all those pans and pots, she felt her smile widen considerably. It was a picture she could definitely get used to. 

Ryo ruffled his hair and turned around when he finally noticed her, standing in the doorframe and watching him with such a brought smile that he felt his own face lighten up too. He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. 

"Hey, honey. I was trying to make breakfast for us. Whoops, sorry, I forgot about the 'no nicknames' thing again, didn't I?"

She smiled up at him. 

"I don't know, but I strangely liked that one. It has an obscurely possessive undertone that for unknown reasons kinda appeals me." 

"Meaning I can call you honey all I want?"

"Well, avoid it in public, but for now, call me whatever you want..."

"Alright, then I'll call you... Ah, let me think..."

He rubbed his chin in fake thoughtfulness, then grinned.

"I think I'm gonna call you my girlfriend if you don't mind."

"That's perfectly fine with me." 

He smiled and then bent to place a loving kiss on her lips.

"Sorry, darling, but if we remain like this any longer, your eggs will be black."

She smiled sheepishly and disconnected herself from his arms, again feeling this book-déjà-vu thing at the small wave of coolness that surged through her at the loss of his touch. Unbelievable that this corny stuff was actually possible in real life. 

"You can see if you find the plates and set up the table, okay?" 

"Sure." 

She turned to the cupboards and found them to be surprisingly tidy, everything easy to locate. It didn't take her long to finish and she never realized that Ryo's eyes were on her the whole time. 

She looked like she belonged here, into his kitchen, as if she was living here, sitting in here every morning and setting up the table for the two of them. That would most definitely be his picture of the day. 

They sat down, eating and conversing anything that crossed their minds. It felt good actually behaving like normal adolescents, like a normal _couple_. 

The only thing they didn't discuss was his cure. It was plain embarrassing. 

Ruki was pretty sure she was ready now. But that still didn't take the awkwardness away, still made her feel nervous to the thought of being naked in front of him, of doing something wrong. So she decided she would just have to ask him about it.

"Hey, baby?" 

He looked up at her and beamed, obviously pleased by her nickname and how easily it rolled from her tongue. She smiled back.

"Huh?"

"Well, we still have something important to talk about. Remember?" 

"Dumb question, but yes, I indeed _do_ remember. What about it?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

She resisted the intense urge to roll her eyes at him, but he caught the notion and grinned.

"What about it? Don't you think we should talk this through?"

"No, frankly, I don't. I don't really want this to be planned, like it's all something plain and mechanical. I want this to happen when it's supposed to happen, not when one of us thinks it right. Let's just say, you stay here with me, I take care of precaution, and we let things flow from there. Is that okay with you?" 

"Stay here? As in live here?"

He chuckled. 

"Yes, as in live here. You want to or not?"

"Well, I think I do, but I don't know if my mother will accept it."

"Just tell her you want to catch up on old times with me, you don't have to mention that we're a couple."

"Alright, I'll try."

"Good girl. Now come here."

"What makes you think _I_ would take orders from _you_?"

But despite her remark, she plopped down onto his lap, mirroring his wide grin. 

"Good, now kiss me."

"Haven't you listened to me?" 

He made a puppy face.

"Please?" 

And grinning even wider, she brought her mouth up to his again, again amazed at how good it felt. If kissing was like that, how would sex feel? She could only imagine, and the thought of Ryo without his drawstring pants suddenly grew strangely appealing. But before anything further could happen, the young man pulled back, almost gasping for breath and the girl realized that her breathing was just as unsteady. 

"Okay, I think I'll lay down for another while, you in?" 

"Yep, I'm incredibly tired." 

"That's my charm, it's sucking up your energy."

"I think it's more your tongue and what it possesses mine to do."

He grinned and supported her with his arms, just lifting her up as he stood up. 

"You carrying me into the bedroom? I feel like I'm on my honeymoon."

She smirked and he grinned back at her. Then suddenly she felt him remove his arms around her, and she squealed half surprised, half angry before she realized that he had only dropped her onto the bed. 

He went around the bed, lifted the covers and snuggled underneath, pulling her up to his chest. She happily complied and the two went to sleep again, happy as never before.

A/N: Yeah, I felt like fluff here and I think I more or less succeeded in writing it. Alright, all I have to say is left- button- review- submit- PRESS! 


	9. Complete

Ah, wait, let me think... I own the Coca Cola Concern, Microsoft, Wesley, Heath, Hayden, Ranger and Morelli, and am literally too poor to afford a pair of cotton socks. Oh, damn, this contradicts itself, huh? See, there you have it. **_I own nothing._**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The door gave an unwilling squeak as Ruki pushed it open, desperately trying to handle the bags in her hands which were threateningly close to falling and spilling all their contents on the floor. 

"RYO! A little help here?!" 

Seconds later, the young man's head emerged from the living room. 

"Wha? Oh, sure, coming!" 

A faint rustling and he stepped into the hallway, taking the purchases from her arms which caused her to emit a relieved sigh. 

They had settled on sharing the work, after all Ruki lived with him for almost two months now, and it was surprising how comfortable she felt. 

"Man, that stuff is heavy. Why didn't _you_ go shopping?"

"Ah, let me think a sec... If I recall correctly, _someone_ was absolutely unwilling to touch _either_ the dirty dishes _or_ the vacuum cleaner _or_ the flat iron. Correct me if I'm wrong."

"Moron, ever heard of the word _rhetoric_?" 

"Oh, of course, this wasn't a question but an accusation. Wait. Yes, Oh Master Of Accusing Me For Every Problem Within Twenty Miles Reach, I apologize for being my dense self and not immediately jumping to your aid in these serious issues. I am absolutely and completely unworthy of your affection and trust. I prepare to sink into the depths of guiltiness, roll into a ball and die." 

The speech was followed by a tributary bow and an inevitable roll of eyes by Ruki. 

"You know, you could've just said sorry." 

"Yeah, but that would sound as if I was serious." 

"Oh, you're terrible, you know that? I hate you!" 

"You know how much more convincing that would sound if you actually stopped grinning?"

Her face lit up even more when he pulled her against him and enveloped her in his arms. His hold was possessive and tight, not even giving her an inch's space. She looked up as he leaned his head back and then brought his face back down to hers so that their foreheads touched. His expression was serious, almost forming a frown. 

"God, I love you." 

Her lips contorted into a soft, genuine smile. 

"I know. And don't you ever stop."

"How could I? You're practically the centre of my life." 

"And you're mine."

His face softened. 

"You love me, right?"

"Of course, I always have." 

"That's what I've been longing to hear."

"And you will for a long, long time." 

"I could not think of any words more comforting."

She smiled.

"Come on, Pooh, let's get these things into the fridge." 

"What? Did you just refer to me as Winnie the Pooh? That's insulting!" 

"No, it's not. Winnie the Pooh is cute and quite dense and he always wears red. Fitting, is it not?"

She poked her finger into his red shirt while she grinned at his pout. 

"That's not nice, Ruki." 

"No, but it's the truth."

"I'm not dense."

"Not in the intellectual sense."

"As opposed to?"

"If you had any emotional understanding you'd never feel the need to ask me if I love you. You'd simply _know_."

He gave her a fake arrogant face.

"I know a lot more than you do. I for example knew already seven years ago what I wanted you to be to me. You've only decided for what? Two months?"

Then his face went earnest again. 

"Besides, I _did_ know you loved me. I never doubted it in the last few days. But you could never imagine how good it feels to really hear you say it out loud, in my face no less."

"Aww, little Pooh-Bear is all happy-happy now, isn't he?"

"You sound like you really need an infant to bother. I've grown out of that language about seventeen years ago."

"Oh, that's alright, we could just go to Kazu or Takato, they'd probably understand every word." 

He chuckled and took hold of her hip. Pulling her up to his waist, he pulled her legs around him, supporting her by holding her bottom. Though his hands lingered longer than necessary, causing the passion that had burned on pilot flame for the last hours to flare up full force again. 

Ruki brought her face up to his, their noses grazing and their foreheads touching once again. Her arms wandered up his arms and shoulders, grazing the hot flesh exposed to finally come to a rest around his neck while his hands grasped her bottom more tightly. 

It had almost become normal by now, but still Ruki felt surprised and amazed every single time she noticed how quickly and eagerly her conscious mind shut down, leaving her to her instincts and passion. Not that it disturbed her in any way, mind you. 

Their kiss grew more demanding and fierce, both obviously acting upon their bodies. Her legs tightened around his midriff and his fingers found their way down to the hem of her dress, tucking it successfully over her head. Which left her in a bra and panties and even more eager to get his clothes off too. Her fingers unfastened the buttons in an astonishing pace, pushing the shirt down his shoulders. 

Ryo moved them and began to make his way to the bedroom, never taking his arms away from around her or breaking their fiery kisses, and with their clouded minds, the couple barely realized the bedroom door slamming shut, barring out the rest of the world, as much as they didn't know that it wasn't to open until almost 24 hours later. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

What a _weird_ feeling.

Her body felt sore and worn out, but relaxed and refreshed at the same time. It was... well, weird, as stated above. But nice. Very nice. Slowly, Ruki began to recognize other things around her, like the unfamiliar, but familiar scent of the bed she was lying on, like the chirping of the birds she had grown accustomed to in the last two months, like the warmth of a body surrounding hers. 

She snuggled closer, never able to get enough, generating a tired, but happy sigh from her lover. She opened her eyes and surveyed the scene. His hands were playing with her hair, probably without his own notice. His face, resting against her slim throat, was relaxed and unguarded, as most times when he was around her. All she could feel, sense, was his genuine and unwavering happiness, equalling her own. 

And, she realized, for the first time in her whole life, she felt utterly, wholly, wonderfully _complete_. Without a doubt on her mind, without fear for the future, without grief for the past. Not thinking through consequences or possible means of escape of whatever was demanding responsibility and trust in herself. The first time these three small, yet so important words came out without a tinge of reluctance, flowing naturally like it was the easiest and best thing to say:

"I love you."

"I love you, and I love hearing it." He lifted his eyes to meet hers and smiled. 

"I know."

"Would you mind hearing it every morning?" 

"What?" 

"That I love you. Would you... would you mind waking up beside me every single day of your life? Would you mind growing old with me?"

His eyes fluttered close as he seemed to search for the right words to lighten up his girlfriend's confusion. A slight look of apprehension settled on his handsome features. 

"Would you... would you _marry me_?" 

"_What?!_"

He let out his held breath, still not opening his eyes. Then finally, when he brought himself to meet her gaze, he was met by a beaming smile. 

"Man, you're lucky you got me this instant."

"Why?"

"Because right now, I can't even bring my infamous  'Voice Of Doubt' to find a single argument against you of for the fact that I should say no. I love you, I'm sure it will stay this way forever, and I want to be able to hang a sign around your neck stating that you're taken, so... yes, yes, yes, yes, _YES_!"

"Ah, I _knew_ it!"

"No you didn't, you looked like a lost five-year-old, waiting for the execution of his favourite teddy bear. Absolutely lost." 

Ryo pouted, answering in a defensive voice: "Fine, so I _was_ scared of you saying no, and now what?!"

"Oh, don't get all upset, darling. It's alright now, isn't it?"

"Damn straight."

He sighed exaggeratedly at her smirk. 

"I love you, but you can still be a bitch sometimes."

"HEY!"

His grinning face was confronted by a pillow coming directly its way, and due to the morning drowsiness, Ryo was unable to prevent the impact, receiving a satisfied giggle from Ruki. 

"Damn woman, you'll never get away with this!"

He grabbed his own pillow and hurled it at her, involving them in a huge pillow fight that continued on until, after almost an hour, the both collapsed onto their bed again.

"Is it normal that wife and husband-to-be share a _pillow fight_ right after the proposition?"

"I don't give a fuck if it's normal, it was cool."

"Yeah, exactly my train of thoughts."

"So, wanna give it another go?"

"Sure. How about in... five hours? I need my beauty sleep right now."

"You don't need anything like that, but I'm sure you know this and are just fishing for compliments, so I'll shut up and sleep. Wanna join me?" 

"But of course!"

She gave a small laugh as she was pressed up to his body again, snuggling so close that she practically vanished inside of him. Then she turned and gave him a look.

"Hey, I think we forgot the kiss."

"Oh, yeah. We did."

"So?" 

He grinned and leaned down, placing a long, soft kiss on her lips. 

"Now you're mine. Unofficially."

"But that's all we need, right?"

"'Course. Now go to sleep." 

"See you in twelve hours, baby."

"Mhmmm..." 

He was obviously already drifting off again, so Ruki followed suit and fell into a deep slumber beside him. Dreaming of him, their love and the wonderful life they were going to have. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yes, that's it, folks. The moment we've all been waiting for. What? You actually thought I'd write a lemon? Besides the fact that I should not even be reading them, much less writing one, I'm pretty sure I would simply not be able to. 

And now, something very important which my dumb and forgetful mind simply embezzled: 

**_A HUGE THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!!!_**

I'm afraid I can't name all of you right now, but every single one of your words made my days brighter. **_Thank you!_**


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